Gov't to freeze hiring, ban foreign travels

Hard times call for big sacrifices, especially from globe-trotting government officials.

To help government recoup the P22-billion cut made by Congress in the proposed national budget, President Estrada announced yesterday some cost-cutting measures, including a ban on official foreign travels by government officials and a freeze in the hiring of state workers.

These measures will complement a reinvigorated tax collection effort, the President said.

Mr. Estrada expressed confidence that with improved tax collection and a belt-tightening program, the government would be able to recoup the P22-billion budget cut.

The President cited the P500-million collection registered by the Bureau of Customs for January, which surpassed the bureau's own target.

While the Bureau of Internal Revenue has yet to submit its report, Mr. Estrada was hopeful the BIR's performance would also be commendable.

Mr. Estrada noted that the two agencies' accomplishments for the first month of the year augur well for the government in the light of the budget cutdown from the Malacañang-proposed P651 billion to P629 billion.

"We now have a new economic team headed by Finance Secretary (Jose) Pardo which is studying changes and thinking of ways to encourage our people to pay the correct taxes," Mr. Estrada said.

Pardo, who previously served as trade and industry secretary, took over the finance portfolio last month from Edgardo Espiritu who tendered his irrevocable resignation.

At the same time, the President designated Dakila Fonacier and retired Gen. Ramon Farolan as BIR and Customs commissioners, respectively.

"I believe we can overshoot our targets this year and we can meet the shortfalls in our budget. This was precisely why the cuts were transferred to the unprogrammed (portion of the budget)," Mr. Estrada added.

He specifically cited the P11-billion slash in the internal revenue allotment (IRA) for local government units (LGUs) which was diverted to the unprogrammed provision of the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

"So once we meet the shortfall of the previous year, we can restore the IRA of the LGUs. If our revenue collection for this year will increase, this will be channeled back to them (LGUs) and restore the other cuts in the budget," Mr. Estrada said.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora has said he and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno will recommend the presidential veto of the special provisions inserted by Congress in the GAA.

"There have been many special provisions inserted in the budget that require consultation or concurrence of various members of Congress for the execution and implementation of various infrastructure projects, then definitely, we will have to take a closer look at our remedy, one of which is a presidential veto," Zamora said.

He cited a special provision which effectively regulates the power of the executive department in the management of public funds.

"This is a little unusual and I hope it is not true because up to last year, the only requirement has been consultations on a number of issues, but no requirement for concurrence," he said. --