THE government will likely operate under a reenacted 2007 budget by January 1 owing to the failure of a bicameral conference committee to hammer out a consolidated final version of the P1.23- trillion spending bill for 2008 before the yearend.

Senate President Manuel Villar admitted there may not be enough time for the bicameral panel, cochaired by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and Rep. Edcel Lagman, to reconcile conflicting provisions in the Senate and House versions of the proposed money measure before Congress adjourns for Christmas recess this week.

“There is a possibility that the government may have to operate under a reenacted budget but only until January,” Villar told Senate reporters. “That’s not surprising. We’re doing everything possible to have this budget approved in final form but it seems that’s not possible [within the year].”

He explained that the conference committee could not rush approval of the new budget after Enrile confirmed they have yet to forge agreement on how to resolve the “wide gaps” in the versions separately passed by the two chambers, particularly on the approved cuts made by the Senate and the House in the P295-billion allocations for debt service next year.

“We really can’t rush it because certain substantial issues must be resolved,” the Senate President said, adding, “I wouldn’t be so worried by a month’s delay in passage, but I hope it won’t go beyond one month; it’s truly important that we pass our budget [and not rely on a reenacted one].”

Enrile, for his part, said the Senate panel in the conference committee on the budget will strive to “work out a compromise” in order to close what he estimated to be a P12-billion gap in the Senate and House versions of the proposed budget cuts.

But Enrile ruled out the need for the President to convene Congress to a special session in the middle of the month-long Christmas recess, saying the government can operate even without a new budget.

He reported that House members “made cuts and changes [in their version of the budget bill] of approximately P36 billion and, in our case, our changes amount to about P10.8 billion. There are many points of divergence so we will have to reconcile the figures.” 

The “divergence” in the Senate and House-approved budget bills mainly involved the P295- billion annual allocation for debt service. The total House cuts in the 2008 budget amounted to P36 billion, of which P17.8 billion were slashed from debt payment allocations reallocated to other items. The Senate-approved version, on the other hand, slashed P10.8 billion from the budget pie, of which P5.7 billion was originally allotted for debt payments.   

53 more Magdalo members released

THE Armed Forces released from detention on Thursday 53 of the 54 noncore leaders of the Magdalo who have earlier admitted to the charges after President Arroyo commuted their seven-year sentence by one month, allowing them to spent the holidays with their families as free men—but civilians.

THE government will likely operate under a reenacted 2007 budget by January 1 owing to the failure of a bicameral conference committee to hammer out a consolidated final version of the P1.23- trillion spending bill for 2008 before the yearend.

THE wife of jailed provincial broadcaster Alexander Adonis has expressed fear for the safety of her husband after learning that the latter was illegally taken out of prison for a purported check-up on December 11.

THE environmental watchdog Eco Waste Coalition on Thursday renewed its campaign against the use of firecrackers and reminded the people of its hazardous effect to human and animal health, as well as the environment.

A LEGISLATOR has filed a bill mandating a total gun ban to address the spate of killings and violence in the country.

THE Ilusorio-Africa group, that constitutes one of the two boards of director of the government-sequestered Philippine Communications Satellite Corp., (Philcomsat) used mere letters signed by the former chairman of the Government Service Insurance System and the solicitor general to replace the presidential appointees in the Philcomsat group, belying its claim it represents the government in these corporations.