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PRESIDENT Arroyo signed Tuesday the P1.23-trillion
national budget for 2008, with two of her economic
managers characterizing it as a buffer for a slowdown in
the US economy, though they ruled out any immediate
decision to forgo the ambitious goal of balancing the
budget in order to spur growth.
Acting
Socioeconomic Planning chief Augusto Santos said in an
interview that the P45-billion stimulus package, which
is 5 percent of the 2008 budget, “will help prevent a
slowdown in the Philippine economy in the event that the
US economy really slows down.”
Andaya
and Santos said the government will continue to strive
for a balanced budget this year unless the US slowdown
worsens and affects Philippine growth.
“If it
is really necessary, it is more important to help the
people rather than a balanced budget. But as of now, we
can still balance it,” the budget chief said.
Santos
said that so far, the government still expects to have a
balanced budget this year.
“Last
year, our deficit was only P9 billion so this year,
2008, is really a balanced budget. That’s our goal,” he
said.
Like
Andaya, Santos said forgoing a balanced budget would
only be considered if the US economy further
deteriorates and slows down the economy, which could
increase poverty incidence in the country.
“To
solve the increase in poverty incidence is for
government to spend more. We may forgo a balanced budget
if necessary to avert a slowdown in the Philippine
economy and/or to avert this increasing incidence of
poverty. But that’s something that we have to think
about because it’s a balancing act,” Santos said.
The 2008
budget provides for a P245-million computerization
program for the Bureaus of Customs and Internal Revenue
to improve their collections.
“These
revenue-generating agencies will be encouraged to double
their efforts to reach the target of a balanced budget
this year as well as improve the current tax/GDP ratio
of 14 percent to 17 percent in 2010,” Malacañang said in
a statement.
In
signing the budget law, President Arroyo said it
reflects investments in the economy, education and the
environment, and creates a “buffer” to ease the pain of
a global economic slowdown and rising oil and food
prices.
Budget
Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said that the 2008 budget
will help the government cope with the
US
slowdown as it provides for a P45-billion stimulus
package that infuses more spending in the key areas of
infrastructure, education, health and agriculture.
“The
budget we are signing today is a major step forward for
investing in our people and our nation. It provides a
buffer to mitigate the pain of a deteriorating global
economy and the accompanying rise in prices which
affects food and transportation the most,” the President
said at signing ceremonies at the Palace Rizal Hall.
The
Department of Education remains the top recipient of the
budget this year with P140.24 billion, followed by the
Department of Public Works and Highways (P94.73
billion), Department of the Interior and Local
Government (P53.24 billion), Department of National
Defense (P50.93 billion) and Department of Agriculture
with the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act
(P24.71 billion).
The rest
of the top 10 budget recipients are the Department of
Transportation and Communications (P20.82 billion),
Department of Health (P19.77 billion), State
Universities and Colleges (P19.64 billion), Judiciary
(P10.28 billion) and the Department of Foreign Affairs
(P10.19 billion).
Malacañang said increased infrastructure spending, which
is at P200 billion, would fund remediation works on the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to comply
with international standards, close the LRT Line 1 North
Extension loop in Metro Manila, build 2,000 kilometers
of farm-to-market roads each in Mindanao and North
Luzon, and 1,000 kilometers each in Central Philippines
and in Central and Southern Luzon, among others.
In terms
of social services, the 2008 budget sets aside P24.7
billion for health, P4.97 billion for housing, P2
billion for the National Food Authority, P3.28 billion
for the Food for School Program and P13.1 billion for
the agrarian-reform program.
The
government has earmarked funds for the construction of
10,000 classrooms, the procurement of 35.5 million new
textbooks, the setting up of 920 computer laboratories
in public schools, 62,000 scholarships under the
Education Service Contracting, increase in the high
school voucher from P4000 to P5000 to P7000 and
research, technology and science scholarships.
Under
the 2008 budget, P350 million will be spent on
business-process outsourcing training; P1 billion for
teacher training in math, science and English, and P1.4
billion for engineering, technology and science
scholarships at high-school, college, masters and
postgraduate levels.
The
President also said that P23 billion has been allocated
for agricultural modernization, more than what is
demanded in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization
Act, “over and above the credit” provided by government
financial institutions.
Mrs.
Arroyo said P5 billion will help fund the creation of a
“Green Philippines” that will conserve and beautify the
country, build more urban parks and recreation areas,
purify water and clean up unsightly and unhealthy
industrial sites.
The DOE
has been allotted P300 million to support its energy
independence, while P240 million has been set aside to
start turning the country’s coral reefs, mountain vistas
and tropical forests into national parks and
international sanctuaries for ecotourism and scientific
research.
To
strengthen the fight against corruption, the Office of
the Ombudsman will receive P963.2 million this year,
from P481.52 million in 2002.
Referring to the P45-billion stimulus package contained
in the 2008 budget, Andaya said in an interview after
the signing ceremonies that the 2008 budget was
“designed to counter that possible slowdown in the US
economy.”
He
added: “Not only that. Our policy now is to front-load
infrastructure and social services that will also help
possible increases in [prices of rice and goods]. We are
doing it this early so that if there are any negative
effects, we can immediately counter them.” |
