House approves P1t budget

[grabehbebe]

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Three months later, House approves P1t budget

THE House yesterday finally approved on second reading the proposed P1.053 trillion budget for 2006 after 19 hours of deliberation starting 10 a.m. Wednesday.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia attributed the delay in the budget’s approval to what he claimed as a series of political distortions experienced by the nation since the last presidential State of the Nation Address in July.

He considered the budget as “Spartan� but designed to speed up reforms and spur economic growth.

The Department of Education got the budget’s lion’s share—P119.1 billion or P7.1 billion higher than its current budget. It will use part of the money to build 7,000 classrooms and buy textbooks.

The Department of Public Works and Highways received the second largest allocation of P62.3 billion followed by the Department of National Defense (P46.6 billion), Department of Interior and Local Government (P45.6 billion), Department of Agriculture (P15.6 billion), Department of Agrarian Reform (P15 billion), and Department of Transportation and Communications (P14.3 billion).

The Department of Health received P10.6 billion, the Judiciary, P8.5 billion, the Department of Finance, P6.9 billion, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, P6.3 billion and the Department of Foreign Affairs, P5.3 billion.

De Venecia said the 2006 budget supports the President’s 10-point agenda laid out in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.

He said P13.1 billion has been earmarked for the Compensation Adjustment Fund to cover the P1,000 additional monthly allowance that government workers would receive retroactive to January this year.

Meanwhile, senators are anticipating intense debates and a possible deadlock in the bicameral conference committee meeting on the 2006 budget.

They said it was unlikely that the Senate could pass the budget quickly because time was short.
“It will be tight because there are only a few weeks remaining before we take our Lenten break,� said Senator Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate’s finance committee.
Senator Sergio Osmeña III agreed.

“It’s now March and the budget is not yet here,� he said.
“It will take 10 to 15 days to print it, so it will be here right before the break. How can we pass it when we’ve not looked at it?�

Separately yesterday, Malacañang was not pleased with congressmen’s demand that their P70 million pork barrel, which was reduced to P40 million this year because of budget constraints, be restored.
But it did not say if it would reject any increase in the pork barrel, officially called Priority Development Assistance Fund.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the matter would have to be discussed between President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and De Venecia.

“We don’t know what will happen,� he said. “That will depend on the talks between the President and the Speaker.� With Roy Pelovello and Fel V. Maragay

-By Macon Ramos-Araneta
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?...s02_mar24_2006

[FK]

now the congressman has a bigger pork barrel to spend.

[lestat1116]

asa man sila kuha og 1t?

[samamar21]

also the senator bigger
au ug pork barrel

[7DMM]

also the senator bigger
au ug pork barrel

they needed it para sa ilang mga luho

[iloveyou4ever]

daghan napud mga pulitiko nga mudato ani. Wow! Hinay hinay lang mga corrupt ug deposit sa inyong mga bank accounts ha.

[Bolshoi]

1k increase is for all government employees including law enforcers and the AFP having almost 1 Million headcounts. For the budget, was from the tax collected the EVAT.

Good for them bad for us not a government worker. tsk! tsk! tsk! then mag 4 days workweek dayun cla samot ka poor ila services then dagko og sweldo unya gikan sa atong tax ila gi lamoy og gi waldas2x na money! huh! huh! huh! faet!,...

[iloveyou4ever]

1k increase is for all government employees including law enforcers and the AFP having almost 1 Million headcounts. For the budget, was from the tax collected the EVAT.

Good for them bad for us not a government worker. tsk! tsk! tsk! then mag 4 days workweek dayun cla samot ka poor ila services then dagko og sweldo unya gikan sa atong tax ila gi lamoy og gi waldas2x na money! huh! huh! huh! faet!,...

sakto! what about for the private workers? Dapat e increase sad ug 1k per month. Unfair ni nga practice. Ang government workers ra ang naay favor. Ka swerte sa mga ukoy! Nga mangasaba pa jud sila (government workers) ug dili mag serbisyo ug tarong. Naay uban nga mu punch lang sa iyang time card then lakaw dayon, mag window shopping sa. Ining balik sa opis punc napud para out na! Sus!

[Bolshoi]

kna untang pork barrel oh decreasan unta na? sacrifice lang ta cla gamay ba....

I hope na-ay salaray increase nationwide pra sa mga private workers,..... EVAT no excemption man gud......

[jerx d great]

dakoa oi!!