GOVERNMENT PORK MANILA, Philippines – Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Monday warned that the proposed 2015 national budget under deliberation at the Senate suffers from two dangerous minefields: the redefinition of savings, and the retention of pork barrel funds. Santiago delivered a privilege speech on Monday urging a return to the old definition of savings and a provision under Section 91 of the General Provisions to compel the Department of Budget and Management to submit a compliance document with certain reportorial requirements on lump sums. [READ SANTIAGOS PRIVILEGE SPEECH HERE] Santiago also urged that the P2.69 B for the socioeconomic component of the Bangsamoro normalization process be placed under Unprogramed Appropriations because, technically, Congress has not yet passed the Bangsamoro Basic Law. The feisty senators warnings bolster earlier observations repeatedly made by budget watchdog groups such as that led by ex-national treasurer and UP public administration professor Leonor Magtolis-Briones. Briones had warned against passing the 2015 budget in its present form because, she said, it still contained many lump-sum appropriations that negated the administrations avowed reformist bent and supposed disdain for pork barrel. Briones and the watchdog groups also warned that the 2015 budget as constituted also institutionalized the surrender of Congress power over the purse with its redefinition of savings, effectively allowing the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to continue under another name, after it was declared illegal by the Supreme Court. On Monday, Santiago quoted the Constitution, in Article 6, Section 25 paragraph 5, which states: No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations; however, (certain government officials) may, by law, be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations. The old definition of savings was better. It allowed savings only after final discontinuance or abandonment of the work, activity, or purpose. The new broader definition allows savings during discontinuance or abandonment at any time, the senator said. Santiago said that, in effect, under the 2015 budget, an agency that fails to obligate any allotment loses it. Scenarios for corruption What happens to the commitment to Congress of the agency head that the agency will deliver a specified level of outputs, such as number of school buildings, completion date, kilometers of roads, linear meters of bridges, and so on? What if certain projects that were funded out of savings were later submitted for Congress-authorized but DBM-discontinued projects? These are scenarios for corruption, the senator said. Santiago went on to attack lump sums worth P37.3 B appropriated for five government agencies: Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Commission on Higher Education. The senator said that, while legislative lump sum may appear huge, the Presidential lump sum is even bigger, amounting to over P500 billion for 2015 alone. interaksyon/article/99804/2015-budget--miriam-hits-minefields-in-savings-lump-sums
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 08:54:47 +0000