THE House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday approved the Palace-proposed P22.46-billion supplemental budget. Liberal Party Rep. Isidro Ungab of Davao City, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said that 10 members of the panel have voted to pass the supplemental budget, while two voted against it.
He said a committee report is now being prepared for presentation at the plenary for second reading on Thursday.
“We will pass it in the lower chamber by Friday,” Ungab said. Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the supplemental budget addresses urgent funding requirements for priority infrastructure, socioeconomic and rehabilitation and reconstruction projects.
“These priority projects were identified as urgent this year but only after the 2015 National Expenditure Program had been sent to Congress in May. As such, there is no truth to misgivings that these projects are funded by any existing appropriations law, much more the proposed 2015 national budget,” he said.
He said the supplemental budget will fund urgent projects like the housing component required by the Comprehensive Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan (CRRP) for Supertyphoon Yolanda, which had been approved only this July. Though P11 billion of the funding requirement for housing was covered by the 2014 National Risk Reduction and Management Fund and released to the National Housing Authority, it would still draw P8 billion from the supplemental budget for a total of P18.9 billion as required by the CRRP. He also said the Department of Social Welfare and Development will receive P1.94 billion to update the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction program.
“The P22.46-billion supplemental budget will also address valid obligations incurred by the national government on completed or commenced projects under the Priority Development Assistance Fund, as well as approved projects supported by the Disbursement Acceleration Program that need implementation.
Though the enactment of both programs was halted by the Supreme Court, these projects were not ruled illegal by the High Court,” he said.