Social service offices get allocation boost

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has increased allocations for three agencies for next year in a bid to boost social services, an official statement said on Friday.

Among all government offices, the Department of Education (DepEd) got the biggest allocation in the proposed P1.816-trillion 2012 national budget at P238.8 billion, up 15.2% from P207.3 billion this year.

Under this department, the Basic Educational Facilities Fund will rise 54.28% to P17.4 billion from P11.291 billion, while the Regular School Building Program will receive P1 billion.

The two projects are expected to provide 41,381 additional classrooms, 2.53 million seats, and 25,667 water and sanitation facilities nationwide.

The DepEd budget is also expected to finance 13,000 additional teaching positions, 45.7 million textbooks and teaching manuals, as well as state assistance for a million private school students.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will get a 43.9% budget increase to P49.4 billion in 2012 from P34.3 billion this year.

Mr. Abad said the DSWD budget was driven up by the expansion of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which provides monthly subsidies to qualified households as long as the mothers avail of health care and their children attend classes.

The CCT program will target 3 million indigent households next year, compared to the current goal of 2.3 million.

Consequently, funding will increase to P39.5 billion from P21.19 billion, the DBM statement said.

Lastly, the Department of Health (DoH) will receive a funding boost next year of 34.84% to P43.4 billion from this year’s P33.2 billion.

The DBM increased subsidies for the National Health Insurance Program to P12 billion from P3.5 billion, to sustain and improve the coverage of 5.2 million indigent households.

The budget for the Doctors to the Barrios Program will also grow next year to P1.742 billion from P123 million. This will fund the deployment of 280 doctors, 12,000 nurses and 1,376 midwives to regional health units, barangay health stations and hospitals nationwide.

Within this program, P56 million is also allocated to support 292 Pinoy MD Scholars.

Also under the DoH’s budget is the P5.75 billion for the upgrading of rural health centers, barangay health stations and district hospitals; P1.87 billion to cover 2.6 million children under the Expanded Program on Immunization; and P3 billion for public-private partnerships for the upgrading, rehabilitation and maintenance of 25 regional hospitals.

Social services will receive the lion’s share of the proposed 2012 national budget at P575.8 billion, equivalent to 31.7% of the P1.816-trillion outlay. This allocation is 10.4% more than the current level of P521.4 billion.

“Dapat diretso sa tao, lalo na sa mahihirap, ang benepisyo ng paggugol ng gobyerno (Public spending should directly benefit the people, especially the poor),” Mr. Abad said.

“Our education, public healthcare and social protection activities will be synergized [sic] for maximum impact.”

The 2012 national budget is the first to be fully prepared, acted on and implemented under the Aquino administration. The House of Representatives started the budget deliberations last Monday. Congress is targeting to have the budget signed into law by Dec. 15. — DCJJ, Businessworld