P.Noy cuts own budget to set example

CEBU, Philippines – President Aquino is slashing his own budget by as much as 4.3 percent compared to that of his predecessor to streamline the operations of the executive department.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said that Aquino reduced the P4.367 billion budget of the Office of the President this year to P4.075 billion next year.

Ochoa said that the maintenance, operating and other expenses of the Office of the President was slashed to P2.48 billion or 6.2 percent from its original P2.64 billion this year.

Even the budget for personal services has been slightly reduced to P1.57 billion from P1.58 billion in spite the expected implementation of the second tranche of the salary increase for government employees.

But, despite all the streamlining efforts adopted by the present administration, Deputy House Speaker Lorenzo Tañada is still expecting a P340 billion budget deficit at the end of the year.

Tañada was in Cebu yesterday to attend a forum on Aquino's reform agenda and changes under his new administration at the University of San Carlos.

According to Tañada, Aquino has practically slashed the budget of all government agencies except the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Education because he wanted to control the budget deficit.

Among the cost-cutting measures taken by Aquino aside from reducing the budgets for almost all government bureaucracies it has also abolished 10 locally-funded projects (LFP), which have been found to duplicate the functions of other line agencies or departments.

These are the Mindanao Development Council, Office of the North Luzon Quadrangle Area, Office of External Affairs, Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, Minerals Development Council, Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group, Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region, Bicol River Basin Watershed Management Project, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on New Government Centers.

The abolition of these offices will give the government P304.62 million savings.

Ochoa said it is the philosophy of the Aquino administration to streamline the operations of his own office in order to cut unnecessary spending and use resources where they are needed most.

He added that Aquino wants to lead by example as the latter cannot ask other agencies to cut costs if his own office is not prudent in the use of the people's money. (FREEMAN)