After protest vs 'pork barrel,' DBM vows more itemized budget

After a major protest against the alleged misuse of 'pork barrel' funds, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday pledged to come up with a more itemized budget for next year.

 

During a Senate hearing on the P2.268-trillion proposed budget for 2014, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said government agencies have already been required to break down existing lump sum funds by mid-October.

 

Abad said various departments must specify the projects, the location of these projects and their specific allocations.

 

"We are also averse of having lump sums in the budget. Increasingly, the budget has been disaggregated. What we want to do is between now and mid-October... they [agencies] should submit to us the disaggregation of the budget," he said during the budget hearing.

 

The Budget chief made this commitment after Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto noted how the spending plan for next year still contains "a lot of lump sum appropriations."

 

"Lump sum appropriations are prone to abuse. Kung 'yung mga lump sum, gagawin nating itemized, baka hindi na rin kakailanganin ng pork barrel," Recto said.

 

The senator proposed that the budgets for classrooms, hospitals and farm-to-market roads slated to be built next year include the specific locations of these projects.

 

Abad agreed to Recto's proposal, and vowed to just transfer to other departments the lump sum funds of agencies that fail to itemize their budgets. 

 

On Monday, around 75,000 Filipino taxpayers staged a protest in Manila to call for the total scrapping of the pork barrel, and the prosecution of lawmakers involved in the alleged misuse of these discretionary funds.

Last week, President Benigno Aquino III called for the abolition of the pork barrel funds—a change from his earlier stance to retain and just introduce reforms to these funds.

Customs target questioned

 

During the same hearing, Senate President Franklin Drilon also questioned the 20-percent growth target set by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) next year.

 

Drilon described the BOC target as "totally unrealistic," given the bureau's failure to meet its self-imposed collection targets for the past years.

 

Customs Deputy Commissioner Peter Manzano, however, failed to explain his agency's increased collection target, and instead admitted that the figure "is a little bit stretched."

 

Drilon likewise questioned why Customs chief Ruffy Biazon snubbed the budget hearing and just let Manzano face the senators.

 

"Please tell him [Biazon] to give preference to budget hearings. Your meetings with your employees can be done at any time of the day. We take very strong exception in the absence of your commissioner," Drilon said.

 

Biazon showed up later during the budget hearing, but was no longer quizzed by the senators. — RSJ, GMA News