Palace: Budget cuts will hurt poor

Malacañang appealed yesterday to senators to restore the cuts they made in the proposed P1.053-trillion national budget for this year, warning that such a move would jeopardize government programs and eventually hurt the poor.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Palace welcomes the final steps being taken by the Senate to approve the budget and thanked the chamber for its assurances of additional allowances for government workers.

"However, we ask for reasoned consideration of reported budget cuts as these may prejudice crucial grassroots programs," Bunye said. "We hope our senators could take a second look at those cuts in the light of government’s objective of increasing the fruits of economic reforms flowing down to the poor, who are now rendered most vulnerable to socioeconomic dislocations."

He said the national budget should be a symbol of a strong partnership of the executive branch and Congress to ensuring social justice and economic development.

Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, on Monday recommended a P31.11-billion cut in the proposed budget, including two new appropriations — the Kilos Asenso Support Fund (P5 billion) and the Kalayaan Barangay Program Fund (P3.69 billion) — which were seen by lawmakers as President Arroyo’s "pork barrel."

The two funding programs are aimed at speeding up economic development in the countryside.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the Senate had made a "deep cut that will scuttle many programs aimed at improving our people’s lives."

"Cutting the budget will not make it meatier. We hope to convince the Senate not to pursue its plan," he said. "We have just emerged from a ‘taxing season’ and it is time to redeem our pledge to taxpayers that a big chunk of what they will pay will be reimbursed to them in terms of additional schools and more roads."

Local officials criticized the Senate for the budget cuts.

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado insisted that the funding is for health care, housing and livelihood projects, among other things. "This is really for local development projects," said Aumentado, who is also president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines and of the League of Provinces of the Philippines.

"This is not only unfair to the local government units but also a big blow to local autonomy," said Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas, president of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

Pangasinan Mayor Ramon Guico, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, branded the Senate’s decision as an "irrational move."

"Don’t they see that progress starts down below? This is nothing but a political decision aimed at getting back at the LGUs pushing for Charter change," he said.

Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone said the budget cut "is a direct affront to the interest of the LGUs and the people in the countryside."

"The senators are insensitive to the needs and aspirations of the Filipino people and should not inject politics into the deliberations on the budget," Evardone said.

Agusan del Sur Gov. Adolph Plaza said the two funding programs were "not pork barrel funds in the same language that the senators and congressmen describe and utilize their respective pork barrel money."

One Arroyo ally in the House of Representatives, Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, has urged senators to reconsider their decision.

Mitra, an appropriations committee vice chairman, said it would be the millions of government employees who would suffer if the cuts, or at least the bulk of them, were not restored.

He said a large portion of the P31 billion is allotted for a salary adjustment and an early retirement program for state personnel.

"We hope that senators will listen to reason when we come face to face in bicameral conference. It is totally wrong for them to say that President Arroyo will use some allocations to buy support for Charter change (Cha-cha) and anti-impeachment. This is already an overused line," he said.

On the other hand, opposition lawmaker Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico expressed support for the deletion but said funds intended for the salary adjustment and an early retirement program for government personnel should be restored.

He said the bulk of intelligence funds, including P650 million for Mrs. Arroyo’s office, should also be scrapped.

Mitra said the funds cut by senators include allocations for a housing project approved by congressmen.

"Funding for this project will be taken from every House member’s pork barrel. The project, to be launched in every congressional district, will help solve the housing backlog," he said.

The Senate did not touch the increased allocations for congressmen.

House members have raised their own pork barrel to their original 2005 level, increasing their funds by 50 percent, from P40 million last year to P60 million this year.

They claim that the additional P20 million, or nearly P5 billion for 236 congressmen and congresswomen, is their "dividend" from their decision to impose a value-added tax on electricity and oil products and to expand the levy from 10 percent to 12 percent.

Besides cutting the budget by P31 billion, senators also scrapped the entire budget of the Presidential Commission on Good Government in the wake of the agency’s compromise negotiations with the Marcoses and their cronies over alleged ill-gotten wealth.

Mrs. Arroyo is locked in a protracted battle with the opposition over allegations that she cheated in the 2004 presidential election.

The opposition accuses her of trying to amend the Constitution and change the country’s form of government to stay in power.

Mrs. Arroyo wants to replace the current US-style presidential system with a parliamentary setup, which she says will speed up passage of legislation needed for the country’s economic recovery. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe