THE P1.23-trillion budget bill submitted by Malacañang to Congress was based on a “bloated” exchange rate, saddling the government with a P20- billion overpayment of foreign loans incurred by the government, according to Sen. Francis Escudero.

He pointed out that in the proposed budget for next year, the national government pegged the peso-dollar exchange rates to a low of 46 and a high of 48 to $1.

Escudero added that the government bloated the exchange rate even as banking institutions predicted that it would be highly unlikely “for the dollar to reach a high of P48 to $1 in the next years as the peso is expected to stabilize within the P40-to-P45 margins.”

Noting that the assumed exchange rate will be applied in the payment of P196 billion worth of foreign loans next year, Escudero said this inaccurate forex rate will “bleed the national coffers white as the government is looking at an overpayment of almost P20 billion, if the assumed exchange rate of 48 is implemented.

“Supposing we use P46 as the assumed exchange rate, the government will still erroneously pay almost P20 billion in the interest rate and principal payments alone of foreign loans because the actual exchange rate today is somewhere near P42 to P44,” Escudero explained.

He said senators want to know where this huge amount will go. “Will they give this for social services that were badly needed since yesterday? If yes, I want to see the breakdown of social programs the government has.”

He voiced concern that the overpayment may go straight to the President’s kitty.

“It can take the form of hidden pork which only the President has the wide latitude and discretion to spend on. This is distinct from her contingent, discretionary and intelligence funds,” he added.

He warned that with the scarce resources the government has at its disposal, it should be appropriating funds to the many needed programs that are yet to be funded and not the programs and projects that are nowhere to be found in the proposed budget.  Escudero suggested that in order to avert an overpayment and earn the government savings, the Department of Budget and the Department of Finance should be able to rectify the exchange rate in the budget proposal and put an educated assumption based on the actual rate.

SENATE leaders strongly denounced the unwarranted arrests of members of mediamen who covered the Peninsula Hotel standoff Thursday amid widespread outrage over the blatant violation of constitutional guarantees on freedom of the press.

AKBAYAN party-list condemned the arrest and rounding up of journalists and civil society leaders and warned the government last night against using the Manila Peninsula standoff to launch another crackdown on the opposition, saying it should instead face squarely the issues that led to the standoff.

THE P1.23-trillion budget bill submitted by Malacañang to Congress was based on a “bloated” exchange rate, saddling the government with a P20- billion overpayment of foreign loans incurred by the government, according to Sen. Francis Escudero.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Huge waves caused by strong winds swept away or severely damaged the homes of close to 8,000 people residing along the shorelines of this city’s west coast as well as public infrastructure, and the homeless are now housed in several evacuation centers or with relatives.

DAVAO CITY—Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Armed Forces chief of staff, on Wednesday assailed the report of a United Nations (UN) special rapporteur that he was convinced by the claim of the military that most of the extrajudicial killings of left-wing activists were touched off by internal purges in the ranks of the communist movement.

A LAWMAKER on Thursday called on the government to stop the planned sale of the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) pending review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira).