President Arroyo signs into law P1.4-T budget for 2009

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law Thursday the P1.414 trillion national budget for 2009, paving the way for public spending that will blunt the effects of the global economic downturn in the country. Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said this year’s allocation, signed as Republic Act 9524, directs resources to activities that will spur the economy, create jobs, build infrastructure and increase social services. "It will be targeting spending that will address present concerns while investing for the future," Andaya said. This year’s outlay of P1.414 trillion is P188 billion bigger than last year’s authorized level of P1.226 trillion. This level will however prompt a deficit of P177.2 billion, “but still within the manageable range of 2.2 percent of the GDP," said Andaya. The increase in spending, he said, was borne out of this belief: "We cannot save our way out of an economic slowdown. We can only spend our way out of it." The need to provide the vulnerable social protection should take precedence over the satisfaction of turning in a balanced budget scorecard, he added. The biggest share of the budget goes to the Department of Education (DepED) – that's P158.2 billion, or P20 billion more than its allotment last year. Second to the DepEd is the Department of Public Works and Highways whose 2009 budget of P130 billion is 37 percent, or P35.2 billion, higher than its 2008 appropriation of P94.7 billion. Third is the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which includes the Philippine National Police, with a budget of P63 billion, up by P9.6 billion from its last year’s allocation. The seven other agencies in the top 10 recipients are: • National Defense - P56.5 billion • Agriculture - P41.2 billion • Health - P27.9 billion • Transportation and Communications - P25 billion • State Universities and Colleges - P22.8 billion • Agrarian Reform - P13.1 billion • Judiciary - P12.6 billion. Andaya said the agencies whose mandate was to provide "welfare armor" to those who are vulnerable to the economic slowdown got big hikes in their allocations. "We have more than doubled the budget of DSWD from P4.84 billion to P10.62 billion. This 119 percent surge is unprecedented in that agency. We have increased the DOH budget by 41 percent and that of the DA by 41 percent," Andaya said. He added that the DENR budget also jumped by 53 percent to P12.4 billion this year to enable it to hire tens of thousands of "green collar workers" to be assigned mostly to reforestation projects. "We have also increased the DFA budget by P2.4 billion to P12.6 billion for it to better undertake economic diplomacy and provide succor to OFWs in distress," Andaya said. With the elections 14 months away, the 2009 budget earmarks P5.44 billion for the Comelec’s preparatory activities. This amount, however, is on top of whatever would be appropriated for the election automation, Andaya said. Contrary to speculation, Andaya said the P10-billion Economic Stimulus Fund (ESF) was not vetoed by the President. "The ESF is major component of the stimulus package and if meshed with other infra projects will be a major jobs generator," Andaya said. On the pipeline, outside of ESF, are the construction of at least 6,000 classrooms, 2,959 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, irrigation works in 125,000 hectares, among other “shovel-ready" projects, he added said. He said the move of Congress to “tweak" interest payments has been vetoed by the President - “a practice all her predecessors resorted to." The budget also sets aside P18.6 billion for a 10 percent increase in the basic pay of one million national government workers. - GMANews.TV