Government budget

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Monday signed the P1.645-trillion budget after vetoing 16 items, including a debt cap and the limits on how he could spend the savings from a P21-billion dole, saying those infringed on Executive powers.

OPEN NOTEBOOK ADDRESSING mounting employment is seen as the key component of the budget that was expected to be signed into law this week. That at least is the reading of the political climate amidst which the proposed P1.645 trillion General Appropriations Act that Malacañang will sign into law says Rep. Elpidio Barzaga of Cavite…

MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino on Monday signed a massive P1.6-trillion national budget for 2011 designed to fight poverty and spur development, but vetoed 13 provisions that would limit his power of spending.

MANILA, Philippines—Here are the 13 provisions in the 2011 budget that President Aquino vetoed: Prior legislative authorization for borrowings in excess of the debt ceiling. Mr. Aquino objected to the imposition of a 55-percent debt cap “at this point in time.” This was restrictive as this would “prevent the government from taking advantage of favorable…

MANILA, Philippines – The words of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima captured the situation of the country’s fiscal sector when the Aquino administration stepped into office last June.

MANILA, Philippines – Following the swift approval of the P1.645-trillion national budget for 2011 by Congress, the Aquino administration would adopt the policy against reenacting budgets, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

THE national budget for 2011 totals P1.645 trillion but Congress actually approved only P933.5 billion. The balance of P712 billion is composed of automatic appropriations which were not included in the national expenditure program submitted by Malacañang to Congress, otherwise known as the President’s budget.

After the chest-thumping and finger-pointing over the speedily approved 2011 budget dies down, it’s Question Hour. While the media, the politicians and the pundits may find much to debate over the quick passage in Congress of the P1.46-trillion proposed General Appropriations Act, including some controversial outlays and cuts, the more pragmatic may prefer to move…

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration would likely be able to cap this year’s budget gap at P325 billion, according to the latest Market Call, a joint capital market research report issued by First Metro Investment Corp., the investment arm of the Metrobank Group and the University of Asia and the Pacific.

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate approved last night the P1.645-trillion national budget for next year with minimal changes in the version passed by the House of Representatives.

While Malacañang patted the backs of its allies in the Senate for approving the P1.645-trillion national budget almost intact and promptly, op-position sena-tors described the govern-ment appro-priations next year as a “stag-nation budget” which greatly scrimped on basic services.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd promised a reform budget for 2011 but debates and deliberations indicated that it was a stagnation budget, Sen. Joker Arroyo charged on Wednesday.

THE students and faculty of the University of the Philippines walked out of their classes Thursday to protest more than P1 billion in cuts on the budget of 112 state universities and colleges.

THE MOST important legislative issue that both chambers of Congress will tackle after a long break is the 2011 budget. While the House of Representatives has already passed the proposed Appropriations Act, members of the House are engrossed with negotiating for additional allocations for their pet concerns.

THE WAY we in the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will fulfill our mandate in public-expenditure management will help make or break the Aquino administration’s vision for the country.

A notice of strike was “served” by militant youth and students groups disclosing that a nationwide protest action is brewing in major universities and colleges across the country in protest of budget cut among State Universities and Colleges.

The so-called stranded electricity costs which were the result mostly of onerous contracts with independent power producers (IPPs) during the term of former President Fidel Ramos had ballooned to P471 billion and the government is now at a loss on how to pay off the huge amount.

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration would need to continue improving on tax administration to strengthen revenues, the World Bank (WB) said in its quarterly update entitled “Stepping Up Reforms to Sustain Growth.”

MANILA, Philippines—By dangling P15 million in additional funds to party-list lawmakers, House leaders should not expect them to drop their opposition to the Aquino administration’s P21-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program and P15-billion public-private partnership program (PPPP) under the 2011 national budget.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Government’s budget deficit ballooned to P259.8 billion in the first nine months of the year, up from the previous year’s P237.5 billion due to lower-than-programmed revenues, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stressed the need for emerging economies in Asia including the Philippines to start tightening its accommodative monetary and fiscal policies in light of emerging signs of inflationary pressures as well as strong influx of capital brought about by the robust economic growth in the region.

ACCESS to budget information in the country is transparent but not enough to trickle down to the common Juan dela Cruz, an international study revealed. The International Budget Partnership (IBP) in its Open Budget Survey 2010 gave the Philippines a score of 55 out of 100, indicating that the government provides the public with “only…

President Aquino and his Budget chief Florencio “Butch” Abad will get what they want from Congress by way of its members no longer questioning the lump sum appropriations insisted on by Malacañang in the 2011 national budget, with former President now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo getting the biggest “pork barrel” from the Department of Public…

New administrations are wise not to make wrenching changes in policies and programs, while still proposing significant changes to put their imprint on governance. So it is with the proposed 2011 budget of President Benigno Aquino 3rd. Major social programs under the past administration would continue, if not dramatically expand. Infrastructure would remain a priority,…

President Aquino’s economic team yesterday earned the ire of opposition lawmakers as Budget Secretary Florencio Abad tried to hide a big portion of the 2011 national budget from congressional scrutiny.