House to further cut number of projects lawmakers can endorse

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives plans to further limit the number of infrastructure projects lawmakers can identify and endorse under the proposed P2.268-trillion national budget for 2014, Majority Leader and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said yesterday.

Gonzales made the disclosure as the House started plenary debates on the proposed national budget, now considered “porkless” after the chamber divided up and distributed the P25-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) among various agencies that would implement congressional projects.

The lawmaker said it was agreed that all infrastructure projects identified by lawmakers would be itemized in the proposed 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which President Aquino hopes to sign before yearend.

“What we want to itemize are three infra (infrastructure) projects, not more than five, so that we can list all these projects before the third reading,” Gonzales said.

He said listing a maximum of five infrastructure projects for each of the 292 House members – plus projects from the 24 senators – would mean another 60 or so additional pages in the proposed GAA.

He said about 35 percent of the broken up PDAF or over P8 billion was allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Earlier, House leaders said they were disallowing asphalting, dredging and other projects which were hard to verify in the menu of allowed congressional projects.

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said while they have agreed to remove the PDAF, the panel has not recommended any cuts in the budgets of agencies.

“So far, we did not recommend any budgetary cuts. We’ve proposed to scrap the PDAF as lump sum allocation. It will go to basic services under the executive department, such as health, education, social services, employment generation, technical skills training and local infrastructure,” Ungab said.

He said House members would have to follow the policies and procedures of the implementing agencies to ensure transparency and accountability in implementing their pet projects.  

Lump sums needed

He also said President Aquino needs certain lump sums in the national budget that his critics have claimed are part of his pork barrel.

“Some lump-sum appropriations have to be available to the President in case of emergencies and calamities,” Ungab said.

He said these appropriations include the annual calamity fund, which would amount to P7.5 billion for next year, and the P1-billion contingency fund.

“Our country is visited by at least 20 typhoons a year. Sometimes, there are unforeseen calamities. The calamity fund is used in those cases,” he said.

He added that the contingency fund, on the other hand, is the source of additional money for the repatriation of distressed overseas Filipino workers.

“Clearly, we cannot do away with these lump sums because they are needed in case of contingencies, calamities and disasters,” Ungab stressed.

He pointed out that in the case of the President’s Social Fund (PSF), this is beyond the reach of lawmakers, since it is not part of the national budget.

However, he noted that the President and Malacañang officials have assured the nation that they are using the PSF judiciously.

Aquino has said his social fund is the source of financial assistance and scholarships for the families of soldiers and policemen killed in the line of duty.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. has told the appropriations committee that the PSF is funded solely from contributions from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

He said when Aquino took over from former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 30, 2010, the fund had a balance of a little over P1 billion. The balance has since ballooned to about P6 billion, he said. Administration critics claim that the PSF is also part of presidential pork, along with the Malampaya Fund, which holds billions in government share from a natural gas project off Palawan.

The Supreme Court has stopped Malacañang from further releasing any amount from the Malampaya Fund and from the P24.790-billion PDAF.

The court issued the order upon petition by some concerned citizens, who are questioning the constitutionality of the PDAF and the President’s use of the Malampaya Fund.

Like the PSF, proceeds from the Palawan natural gas project are not part of the national budget.

At the start of the budget debates, Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora said something is obviously amiss in the country’s high growth rate.

He said the nation has been achieving high rates of economic expansion under the Aquino administration, higher than those of its Asian neighbors except China.

However, he said the economy has not been attracting foreign direct investments and creating enough jobs for jobless Filipinos.

He added that joblessness and poverty incidence figures have remained the same as in the previous administration.