Govt to carry over unused funds to 2012

THE Aquino administration is eyeing to re-align the bulk of its unused budget this year to 2012 to make up for weak spending.

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad told reporters that the government has two options in the event that it fails to fully spend its P1.645 trillion budget for 2011.

“It can either be carried over to next year’s GAA or book them as savings,” Abad said, referring to the General Appropriations Act, which is the spending authority issued by Congress each year. He said the plan is in accordance with the government’s zero-base budgeting approach.

Of the P1.645 trillion GAA for this year, P300 billion was supposed to represent deficit spending. As long as the unreleased budget was classified as Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses or for capital outlays, the fund could still be used next year, Abad said. “Except the budget which we got from 2010 since we can no longer make use of it next year,” he said. The budget chief said the unused budget for procurement also won’t be carried over to next year. “Procurement service funds expire this year. Hence, we can no longer utilize such funds for the succeeding year,” he said.

At end-October, some P1.462 trillion in allotments, representing 88.9 percent of this year’s GAA had been released. Of the released amount, P822 billion were releases from this year’s GAA, while the balance of P640 billion represented automatic appropriations, continuing appropriations from the 2010 budget and the unprogrammed fund.

As of October 31, the unreleased balance under the new GAA amounted to P111.5 billion, which is 11.9 percent of the total program, with P45.5 billion for the departments and P66.1 billion for special purpose funds.

To date, the unreleased balance for automatic appropriations already amounts to P139.9 billion and would apply to the fourth quarter requirements for interest payments and motor vehicle user charge fund. –KATRINA MENNEN A. VALDEZ REPORTER, Manila Times