CONGRESS inched closer to ratifying the final version of the 2007 budget bill after the bicameral conference committee on Wednesday rendered a report endorsing that the money measure be submitted to Malacañang for signing into law by President Arroyo. 

Sen. Franklin Drilon, Senate finance committee chairman, reported that he and his House counterpart, Lakas Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay, had signed the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the proposed P1.126-trillion national budget for 2007 in ceremonies at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Metro Manila, on Wednesday afternoon.        

Drilon said the 2007 national government budget bill will finally address shortages in public school teachers and classrooms, and provide funds to improve services in public health.    

The budget bill also provided for a P10-billion calamity fund for the reconstruction of areas devastated by recent typhoons. Drilon said it would also give Malacañang authority to use unprogrammed funds to pay overdue salary increases of government workers.               

He said the 2007 budget bill can be ratified by both chambers of Congress soon so that it could then be presented for the President’s signature before Congress adjourns on February 10.               

Relatedly, the Freedom from Debt Coalition on Wednesday assailed the retention of the P400-million intelligence fund under the Office of the President following the revision of the P4.7- billion School Feeding Program from pure rice subsidy to the distribution of nutritious meals to pupils.  

The group suspects Malacañang forged a deal with lawmakers dominated by the administration allies for election purposes.             

“While we laud the scrapping of that dubious fund (the rice subsidy), we are disappointed over how the issue was settled,” said FDC president Ana Maria R. Nemenzo.  

“Time and time again, we have pointed out the danger of an incumbent occupant in Malacañang wielding too much discretionary power over intelligence funds that are being used to harass, intimidate and even kill legal political dissenters,” she said.  

Under President Arroyo’s six-year rule, she said, several hundred activists, civilians and media people were tortured or killed in a systematic effort to squash the peoples’ right to political demonstration.    

“With the May 2007 elections around the corner, the President’s intelligence funds will almost certainly be used to crush the political opposition as well as Party-list groups, which are being maliciously branded as ’leftists’ or ‘communists,’” said Nemenzo.  

The proposal to delete the school feeding program was part of the alternative budget proposed by civil-society groups, including FDC.               

They argued that the lessons from the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani rice program in 2004 should not escape every Filipino at this point, referring to the P728-million fertilizer-fund scam where the Department of Agriculture allegedly dispersed funds even for nonagricultural areas. The diverted funds were believed used by the administration in the 2004 polls.     

The country’s debt watchdog, however, supported the reallocation of the scrapped fund to the building of additional classrooms and to the funding of a sensible Nutrition Feeding Program incorporated in the Department of Education (DepEd) Budget.       

FDC likewise commended the Senate panel for scrapping the country’s counterpart to the controversial North Rail Project in the 2007 budget pending a full review of alleged anomalies.   

“This proposition will surely contribute in averting the implementation of anomalous contracts that could have a big impact in our country’s future indebtedness. We hope this initiative by the Senate will be reflected in the final version of the 2007 budget,” said Nemenzo.      

In an unprecedented move, FDC along with several minority congressmen, Party-list groups, Social Watch Philippines, Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Philippines, E-Net and Youth Against Debt (YAD), had crafted an alternative budget for 2007 to ensure financing of significant social services and the realization of the  Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)-related programs.

An earlier deadlock on the proposed P1.126-trillion budget was resolved after the Senate and House panels in the conference committee forged a compromise on the contentious P4.7-billion school feeding program proposed by Malacañang.   

Drilon explained that the Senate and the House panels agreed that instead of distributing rice in schools as originally proposed by Malacañang, the funds should be used to build more classrooms, distribute nutritional supplements and hire more teachers.            

Under the agreement, P2.163 billion would be allocated to the Department of Education’s school-building program.              

The funds would be used to build 5,400 more classrooms on top of the 12,226 new classrooms that Malacañang has already programmed.      

Despite the additional construction, a shortage of 2,961 classrooms this year is still projected, Drilon said.              

He said the bicameral panel also agreed to allocate P2 billion for food supplements such as milk, coco-pandesal and vegetable-based noodles to address the malnutrition among some schoolchildren.       

The additional P873-million budget to be allocated for more teaching positions will raise the DepEd’s 2007 budget for new teachers to about P2 billion. Drilon said teachers in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and general science will get priority in hiring.          

As part of the compromise, the bicameral panel agreed to retain the P400-million intelligence fund of the Office of the President. “We agreed to this out of respect for the time-honored tradition of Congress allowing Malacañang to determine the appropriations for the Office of the President,” Drilon said.  This is what the FDC is protesting.              

The conference committee likewise agreed to incorporate in the proposed budget a total of P10 billion for the rehabilitation of areas badly affected by typhoons.         

The Calamity Assistance and Rehabilitation Effort (CARE) of areas affected by supertyphoons Milenyo, Paeng, Reming and Seniang will have P8 billion; an additional P2 billion under the budget of the DepEd will go to the repair and construction of school buildings in Bicol.                 

At least P500 million of the Department of Agriculture allocation will be provided for livelihood programs of farmers whose lands and crops were devastated by the typhoons, he added. (With J. Mayuga)

CONGRESS inched closer to ratifying the final version of the 2007 budget bill after the bicameral conference committee on Wednesday rendered a report endorsing that the money measure be submitted to Malacañang for signing into law by President Arroyo.

Philippine imports probably grew at a slower pace in November as global crude prices eased and purchases of electronic items weakened, economists said.

PRESIDENT Arroyo will apprise world leaders and top business executives of developments in the evolution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) into a “formidable bloc” when she attends the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week.

THE pace of disposal by sale of banks’ nonperforming assets is expected to quicken this year with the banks’ agreement to lower prices of foreclosed assets offered for sale.

THE Filipino consumers’ confidence level is at an all-time high with their worries over the economy, job prospects, and political stability continually easing, according to findings of global consumer research outfit ACNielsen on Wednesday.

IT is possible the Arroyo government might miss last year’s economic target, as initial figures indicate a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of as low as 5.3 percent and up to 5.6 percent, a senior planning official on Wednesday said.

WHOEVER comes out the beneficial owner or owners of 33,133,064 shares in San Miguel Corp. will no longer get a seat on the board of San Miguel.