Albay solon warns vs. perils of reenacted budget

FILE: Albay Representative Joey Salceda (Photo: Joey Sarte Salceda/Facebook)

LEGAZPI CITY — A reenacted budget for next year would be a virtual certainty, unless lawmakers and the Duterte administration’s economic team could agree on a common budgetary system for the 2019 National Expenditure Program (NEP), Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said Thursday.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno is strongly pushing for the implementation of the cash-based appropriation for the 2019 NEP while the House of Representatives stands firm to implement the obligation-based budgetary system.

In a phone interview, Salceda said, “Our people, not Congress, is the biggest loser in a reenacted budget.” He noted that a reenacted budget is bad policy as it fails to reflect changes in the people’s needs and does not respond to economic imperatives.

The Albay solon, in an emailed statement, said that while the House and the Executive engage in a “vociferous lovers’ quarrel,” congressmen are certainly conscious of the need to pass a new national budget for 2019 that articulates national strategy and priorities.

Salceda said a reenacted budget would put in limbo programs that should benefit various sectors, such the military, education, social services, and infrastructure. Among the sectors, the military and uniformed personnel will be the biggest losers with a total loss of benefits amounting to PHP158 billion in 2019, he added.

He pointed out that a re-enacted 2018 budget cannot authorize the PHP 84 billion in salary increases of Military and Uniformed Personnel (MUP) as provided by House-originated Joint Resolution No.1.

Moreover, the 2018 budget does not provide an item for the Pension Indexation of MUP, which would amount to PHP40 billion and another PHP33.8 billion for arrears in the indexation. The 1.2 million civil servants also stand to lose as the 2019 NEP provides for the fourth Tranche of the Salary Standardization Law, and this amount to PHP 58.1 billion, Salceda said.

It will also jeopardize the conduct of the 2019 Mid-Term Local Elections, which would require PHP 6 billion, as proposed by the 2019 NEP.
The 2018 budget specifically provided PHP11.8 billion but under the Item of “Preparatory Activities”.

Although the Commission on Elections is part of the constitutional fiscal autonomy group (CFAG) and has substantial savings — during the 2017 budget, this was at about PHP19 billion –and could very well provide the funding and has the power to authorize it.

The reenacted budget will endanger the country ’s hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games as the 2019 NEP is seeking PHP6 billion since there is no item in the 2018 GAA. Tourism will also lose, the Albay solon added.

The proposed 2019 NEP also provides for additional PHP11 billion for free tertiary education funding as well as PHP36 billion that incorporates the additional monthly PHP 100 (total PHP300/month) for unconditional cash transfers to cushion the inflation impact of TRAIN on some 12 million families.

Again, a reenacted budget may allow such increase through augmentation but it is a far better policy for Congress to enact it.

While the Executive may draw from its 2018 authorization of PHP3.767 trillion to fit its PHP3.757 trillion 2019 NEP, it can only augment existing items and needs Congressional Authorization for new items, Salceda said.

A reenacted budget, he said, sends a wrong signal to investors on the country’s ability to maintain the reform momentum, he added.