THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has increased by close to P100 billion the annual allocation for President Aquino’s special-purpose funds (SPF) to P379 billion, but reduced the budget for agriculture by P20 billion despite pressing needs for farmers and fisherfolk to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Former National Treasurer and Social Watch convener Prof. Leonor Magtolis-Briones raised the alarm that next year’s budget is really intended for the 2016 presidential elections, saying the SPF are lump sums that can only be released based on President Aquino’s approval.
In the proposed 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the allocation for the President’s SPF was increased to P379 billion from the current P282.5 billion, according to DBM documents.
Increases in the SPF were made in the critical sectors, such as the benefits fund for the 14 million government employees, which was raised to P118.14 billion, from the current P53.5 billion.
The DBM has also increased the allocation for the budgetary support to government corporations to P61.3 billion for 2015, from the current P46.2 billion.
The allocation for local government units (LGUs), according to the 2015 proposed GAA, has also been increased to P33.1 billion, from the current P19.5 billion.
Briones, who once headed the Bureau of the Treasury, warned that since only half of the proposed P2.606-trillion national budget for 2015 will be up for congressional scrutiny, the rest of the allocation might be used for the 2016 elections, particularly President Aquino’s SPF or lump sum.
“In Philippine politics, elections are all about money. Government spending places incumbent politicians and their parties at an advantage over their opponents for the upcoming elections. Projects are credited to officials as part of their track record as the ruling parties would spend for projects in their allies’ jurisdictions. Opposing parties can be deprived of this spending, putting them at a disadvantage,” Briones said.
Briones also criticized the DBM’s move to slash by as much as P20 billion the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) from the current P68.5 billion to P48.4 billion in 2015.
She said there is even a need to increase the organic budget of the DA. Briones added that the allocation has not even reached the mandated 2 percent of the DA budget.
“Local governments have to be capacitated to provide local early-warning services, especially among vulnerable communities. High deaths are recorded among fisherfolk or coastal communities, in general. Many are lost at sea during typhoons,” Briones said.
She said LGUs should have access to standby support services to assist them before, during and after extreme events.
Some of the measures that must be funded under the DA include El Niño impact-mitigation programs, distribution of more drought-resilient crop varieties and distribution of different varieties; planting materials for trials not just rice and other traditional crops, but also for seaweeds.
Briones said the government needs to fund a massive information and education program on alternative crops that are resistant to drought conditions.