Budget chief Abad: No ‘sudden spike’ in 2013 budget

No attempt was made to conceal items in the 2013 budget or in budget process, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad told reporters in an interview Friday.   Abad was responding to the challenge hurled the Aquino administration by Social Watch Philippines and Alternative Budget Initiative – a group led by former National Treasurer Leonor Briones. . “We have to be more vigilant as the P2.006-trillion proposed 2013 appropriations is the first budget proposal to exceed the P2-trillion mark. This is 10.5 percent higher than 2012 budget and almost 21.9 percent higher than the 2011 General Appropriations Act,” Briones said.   More than half of the budget evades scrutiny after the government classified it into special purpose funds, automatic appropriations and unprogrammed funds, she noted.   Briones also questioned the “sudden spike” in the so-called Retirement Benefits Fund (RBF) – proposed at P98.7B for 2013 from P34.4B this year.   “There is no change,” Abad noted.   “The P64.16 billion that is alleged to have been added were originally allocated to different agencies but consolidated under one pension fund for ease of administration,” the Budget chief claimed.   “The pension alone of uniformed personnel this year amounts to P53 billion,” he added.   In a separate statement, the Budget Department noted the RBF for 2013 represents the total amount of benefits appropriated for civilian and uniformed personnel.   “Of this amount, pensions of uniformed personnel – which have previously been tucked into their respective agencies’ budgets – account for P64.16 billion,” the statement read.   On the P22.4-billion Priority Social and Economic Projects Fund that Briones also questioned, the DBM said this would be used for critical development projects proposed by agencies but have not yet been fleshed out in detail.   “Once the agencies flesh out these projects, these will be submitted to Congress as amendments,” the department added. — VS, GMA News