LAWMAKERS from the majority and minority blocs are now studying to return the proposed P3.757-trillion budget to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Following an all-member caucus on Wednesday, Majority Leader Rolando Andaya said lawmakers have expressed concern on the 2019 cash-based budget as well as the budget cuts.
“There have been suggestions that we overhaul it, we return it, we tweak it, (or) we change the forecast,” Andaya said.
According to Andaya, the 2019 National Expenditure Program submitted by the DBM may have made wrong projections on inflation.
He said next year’s budget should be adjusted considering the country’s soaring inflation.
“The inflation target may already be inaccurate. So faced with that situation, economic managers should submit a higher budget adjusted to inflation,” Andaya said.
However, Andaya, former budget secretary during Arroyo administration, said they will closely communicate with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and allow the agency to make its representation again on the 2019 budget.
“This is the first time that it will happen. There’s no precedent to this. Everything is uncertain; maybe a little more study before we apply it,” Andaya added.
Earlier, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the 2018 national budget cannot be directly compared to 2019 as this year’s budget is obligation-based.
“The 2019 cash-based budget cannot be directly compared to the 2018 budget, or any previous obligation-based budget for that matter. An appropriate apples-to-apples comparison would be to estimate the cash-based equivalent of the 2018 budget versus the 2019 appropriations,” Diokno said.
Under an annual cash-based budget, the DBM said contracts intended to be implemented for the fiscal year should be fully delivered by the end of the year with up to three months of the succeeding year, while the multi-year obligation-based budgeting system allows the government to enter into a contract or obligate funds without requiring the actual delivery of goods and services within the year.
The 2019 proposed budget is relatively lower than 2018 national budget worth P3.767 trillion. One major budget cut is in the health sector which receives P141.4 billion, which is 13.8 percent lower than its P155.2-billion budget in 2018.
Changes
Meanwhile, the minority bloc led by Rep. Danilo Suarez of Quezon also stressed the need to introduce changes to the NEP.
Suarez expressed concern over the effectiveness of the new budget scheme and the slight decrease in the budget.
“Despite the assurance of the DBM, we are still worried on how the budget will be utilized for the effective implementation of government projects and programs,” said Suarez.
“With the passage of TRAIN 1, we have more money now, Therefore, to us, it seems odd that we raised taxes and projected higher income, yet the budget for our people was decreased,” he added.
Under the Constitution, Congress may amend, realign the annual budget but it cannot propose a budget beyond the budget ceiling proposed by the Executive.
“Ours is not just to approve the budget submitted to us by the Department of Budget and Management, but first and foremost our constitutional duty is to scrutinize the same whether it is responsive to the needs of our constituents and its entirety, the nation,” Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin said.
“It is hard to explain to our constituents that we passed TRAIN (Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion) law with the promise of more revenues to finance our health facilities only to know that they have the greatest slashed budget in the proposed 2019 budget,” Garbin added.
For his part, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said Congress has the power to correct some supposed defects of the national budget, especially if these are about the lack of budgetary support for the delivery of basic services.