The budget reflects the nation's values
The Lower House has passed in third and final reading the General appropriations Act For 2015. It is, as always, the biggest budgetary allocation in history, a whopping 2.606 Trillion Pesos, which is 15 % bigger than the budget this year of 2.265 trillion. Since this money is still not in the coffers of government, tax collections shall definitely be given more impetus, and tax levies will be relentless and even uncompromising. All eyes will be on the BIR and the Customs Bureau on how they could collect enough revenues in order to finance all these budgetary allocations. Otherwise, deficits may have to compel us to go on foreign and domestic borrowings again.
At any rate, what matters most whenever we contemplate on the meaning and the implications of the national budget, we should always remember that it reflects the values of the whole nation. how we spend our resources indicate in real terms what really are important to us as a people. Since the appropriation act has been passed by our representatives in Congress, it represents the expression of the people themselves. We do intend to spend more money on what we think are more important to us. Thus, Congress put more money in social services over that which we allocated for debt burden and national defense.
Social services, which include education, health, welfare and development, labor and employment, were given 37.14 % of the budget, or the amount of 967.852 billion. This has been by far the biggest slice of the national pie, both in percentage and in absolute amount. And perhaps, rightly so, because we have a very big population with a large segment of the poor and the very poor. These people can hardly make both ends meet, with casual and contractual jobs, indecent housing, unable to afford quality education and even basic medical care and access to hospitals and other health facilities. A nation with a high poverty incidence needs to allocate more for social services.
Economic services get 26.87 % or 700.198 billion. And general public services are allocated 423.057 billion, which is 16.23 % of the whole budget. We have to pay our national debt, and so, 399.363 billion is set aside for debt burden. This year, national defense gets only 4.40 % but in real terms, it is 115.530 billion. Perhaps, this is the first time that the budget for education is three times that of the defense. DepEd in 2015 will get to spend no less than 365 billion or one billion every day. In addition, billions are also allocated for subsidy to state universities and colleges.That is how we value education, more than defense, more than public works and foreign affairs.
Next to education, DPWH gets 300.5 billion, DND, 144 billion, DILG 141.1 billion, DSWD 109 billion, DOH 102 billion, DA 88.8 billion, DOTC 59.5 billion, DENR 21.3 billion and the Judiciary 20.3 billion. There are still lump sums in the budget. The Conditional cash Transfer gets 64.7 billion, support to government corporations, 33 billion, the Malampaya Fund gets 21.1 billion and Off Budget account 29.5 billion. The GAA also defined ''savings in such a way that Presidential discretion is justified by legislation, thereby eluding another Supreme Court rebuff ala PDAP or DAP. Indeed, the budget reflects the values of the politicians, este, the people.
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