Malacañang backtracks on misuse of budget

Malacañang on Wednesday seemed to have retreated on its claim that the previous Arroyo administration violated the law in connection with its treatment of the national budget. Budget and Management Undersecretary Mario Relampagos said that there was nothing illegal in the immediate past government’s spending of the general appropriations in the first six months of the year, only that there was “imbalance [in] the pattern of spending.”

Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda, though, insisted that the supposedly profligate spending of the Arroyo administration of the 2010 national budget in particular was “very fiscally irresponsible” given the financial situation of the country at the time.

Relampagos agreed, saying that the Arroyo administration had not been prudent in spending the country’s P1.54-trillion national budget in the first half of this year.

“Legally there is none. It may just be that, if you notice, we have to frontload the releases in the first semester of the year, especially for infrastructure projects,” Relampagos replied when asked to cite alleged anomalies committed by the Arroyo administration in spending the 2010 budget.

“There is nothing illegal because everything is within the authority granted by the Congress to the executive branch [on what] to spend for the year,” he told a press briefing in Malacañang.

On Monday, President Benigno Aquino 3rd, in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) revealed that the Arroyo administration had severely depleted the 2010 budget in the first half of the year.

President Aquino said that the previous government had released P949.2 billion of the P1.54-trillion budget for this year, leaving a balance of P591.4 billion.

Of the unreleased amount, Relampagos said that P313 billion are automatic appropriations, and P278.3 billion, under the appropriations act.

He added that some P20 billion had been appropriated for release, P62.1 billion for congressional initiatives (CIs)—which are impounded until Congress could identify new revenue sources—and the rest are for salaries and operating expenses.

The Aquino administration is left with P100 billion, which the President may declare as “savings” to temper the budget deficit for the year, or rechannel the fund to the administration’s priority programs and projects.

Though there was no legal problem involved in the releases of funds, Relampagos echoed Lacierda, saying that there was “imbalance” in the spending pattern of the Arroyo administration.

He said that from January to June this year, the government exceeded the budget deficit ceiling by P51 billion.

Relampagos cited the revenue shortfall of P23 billion and the government overspending by P27 billion.

With the revenue shortfall, he said, “prudence and good governance should have dictated calibration in the release of funds.”

Despite the budget-deficit, Relampagos advised against asking Congress for a supplemental budget.

“Outside of the what Congress authorized to spend, there is no other source except a supplemental budget,” he said.

“It is not appropriate or proper this time to seek a supplemental budget from Congress,” Relampagos added.

He said that for Malacañang to do so “will just worsen the fiscal situation unless the new supplemental bill, the appropriations bill, is supported by new revenue sources.”

To ensure that the government’s money was not wasted, Lacierda said that the Aquino administration would adopt “zero-based approach” in the national budget.

He explained that under “zero-based budgeting,” the government “would take away programs” that are bad and waste of resources. –CRIS G. ODRONIA REPORTER, manila times