Judiciarys budget woes continue, 2011 budget offers no solution

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
I!"I#$#%net
First &osted 11'()'00 0)*0+*2010
Filed "nder' ,o-ern.ent, /tate Budget 0 1a2es, Judiciary 3syste. of 4ustice5
MANILA, PhilippinesBudget woes continue to hound the judiciary and Malacanangs
proposed appropriation for its co-eual !ranch for "#$$ appear not to offer any solution%
Appearing !efore the hearing of the co&&ittee on appropriations, 'ourt Ad&inistrator and
(upre&e 'ourt spo)es&an Midas Marue* said Malacanangs proposed !udget for the judiciary
is only P$+%, !illion, as against the P"-%$ !illion it is as)ing%
.he !udget cuts will now depri/e local courts of the reno/ation of their respecti/e halls of justice
such as the one in 'agayan de 0ro%
In "##-, the judiciary for #%-1 percent of the national !udget2 it recei/ed #%33 percent in "##32
and #%4+ percent in "##4%
5.he judiciary has not !een gi/en e/en one percent of the national !udget in the last four years
and worse, there is a high pro!a!ility in "#$$ of a decreased !udget,6 Marue* said%
7etting support fro& the &inority !loc in the 8ouse of 9epresentati/es, Minority leader and
Al!ay 9epresentati/e :dcel Lag&an said the judiciary should !e gi/en the !udget it is as)ing,
and as)ed Malacanang to increase the P$%1;-trillion proposed !udget for "#$$ to acco&&odate
the reuest%
5In !ehalf of the &inority, we ha/e agreed to support the proposed "#$$ !udget for the (upre&e
'ourt and the judiciary as su!&itted to the <epart&ent of Budget and Manage&ent% If the
&ajority cannot acco&&odate the entire proposal, then we are supporting adeuate increases to
the !udget,6 Lag&an said%
According to Marue*, Malacanangs cuts in the proposed !udget of the judiciary will affect !ig
tic)et ite&s that would re&ain without funds such as the P$#%, !illion allocated for personnel
ser/ices2 the P+$1 &illion fund for retirees2 P$%, &illion health allowances for wor)ers2 and, the
P$%3-; !illion proposed !udget for capital outlay, including the !uilding of a Manila 'ity hall of
justice%
Marue* also rued that the needed co&puters and other euip&ent of local courts will not ha/e
funds if their proposed !udget is not granted%
=or instance, he said, &ost local courts ha/e only two co&puters per court, while the ideal
nu&!er of co&puter should !e at least si> units% 8e said this results in !ac)log of cases to as
&uch as +,### cases, when the ideal nu&!er of !ac)log should !e only a!out ;## cases%
.he cuts in !udget would also thwart the judiciarys plan to hire &ore court personnel and judges
to i&pro/e speed of disposal of cases%
8e said the ratio of judge to inha!itants right now is $?;#,###, when the ideal ratio is $?$#,###%
(orsogon 9epresentati/e (al/ador :scudero said the judiciary should !e gi/en the !udget it is
reuesting%
5Indeed, justice delayed is justice denied% I co&&iserate with the judiciary,6 he said%
'agayan de 0ro 9epresentati/e 9ufus 9odrigue* la&ented that while the judiciary is one of the
three eual !ranches of go/ern&ent, it only gets less than one percent of the national !udget% 8e
said the !udget should !e o/erhauled to gi/e adeuate fund to the judiciary%
.he judiciary is co&posed of the (upre&e 'ourt, 'ourt of Appeals, 'ourt of .a> Appeals,
(andigan!ayan, and the lower courts%
.he !udget cuts will not depri/ed local courts of the reno/ation of their respecti/e halls of justice
such as the one in 'agayan de 0ro%
@.he walls in the 'agayan de 0ro 8all of Austice are only up !ecause of the ter&ites,@ Marue*
said%
8e added the reno/ation for this particular !uilding needs a!out P$## &illion%
&alace 6ro6oses &1%(78trillion budget for 2011
By #onnel Do.ingo
&9ili66ine Daily In:uirer
First &osted 0;';7'00 07*2<*2010
Filed "nder' /tate Budget 0 1a2es, =ongress, ,o-ern.ent
MANILA, PhilippinesMalacaBang is set to propose to 'ongress ne>t &onth a !udget of
P$%;-; trillion for "#$$, an increase of P"$1%+ !illion or $+ percent fro& this years !udget of
P$%;+$ trillion%
Budget (ecretary =lorencio B% A!ad on =riday said the increase is &eant to address the lac) of
in/est&ent in !asic social and econo&ic ser/ices, which should help sustained econo&ic growth%
Ne>t years !udget will co/er the 5underin/est&ent in social ser/ices, particularly in education
and &aternal health,6 A!ad said%
.he !udget chief said the lac) of hea/y infusion of resources on such ser/ices is ha&pering the
Philippines co&&it&ent to the Millenniu& <e/elop&ent 7oals CM<7D%
.he M<7s are part of the countrys co&&it&ents to the Enited Nations <e/elop&ent Progra&,
which co&prise of eight goals that touch on !asic social issues%
.hese goals include the eradication of e>tre&e po/erty and hunger, pro/iding pri&ary education
ser/ices to all, pro&oting gender euality and e&powering wo&en, reducing the incidence of
death a&ong children, i&pro/ing &aternal health, fighting diseases li)e 8IFGAI<( and &alaria,
ensuring en/iron&ental sustaina!ility, and de/eloping a glo!al cooperation for de/elop&ent
efforts%
Also, A!ad said a !igger !udget for ne>t year will sol/e the dearth of lay-out on econo&ic
ser/ices such as power infrastructure and transportation syste&s%
5Enderin/est&ent in Hthese ser/icesI &a)es the cost of doing !usiness in the Philippines go
higher,6 he said% 5Je should ha/e &ore sea ports and airports and ha/e longer pa/ed roads per
/ehicle%6
=urther, the !udget chief said the Auino ad&inistration is eyeing a !udget deficit of P"43%1
!illion in "#$$ or ,%, percent of the projected gross do&estic product C7<PD for ne>t year%
.he a&ount is lower than the P,";-!illion target for "#$#, which is ,%4 percent of 7<Pthe
total /alue of goods produced and ser/ices rendered within the country at a gi/en ti&e%
Budget deficit seen to fall below &;2( billion
By Iris =% ,onzales 319e &9ili66ine /tar5 "6dated Dece.ber 0+, 2010 12'00 >?
MANILA, Philippines - .he Auino ad&inistration would li)ely !e a!le to cap this years !udget
gap at P,"; !illion, according to the latest Mar)et 'all, a joint capital &ar)et research report
issued !y =irst Metro In/est&ent 'orp%, the in/est&ent ar& of the Metro!an) 7roup and the
Eni/ersity of Asia and the Pacific%
.he report noted that the full-year deficit will li)ely fall !elow the P,"; !illion ceiling with the
go/ern&ent tightening the noose on e>penditures%
It said that with econo&ic sti&ulus no longer needed, the go/ern&ent no longer needs to spend
that &uch and would instead ha/e &ore roo& to contain the !udget gap within the target of P,";
!illion%
5Nota!ly, the 0cto!er deficit was e/en lower than the P$4%$ !illion ceiling set !y the
go/ern&ent for the &onth% Jith further fiscal sti&ulus no longer needed as the econo&y is
dri/ing faster than e>pected, the deficit target should !e easily attained,6 the report also said%
According to the go/ern&ents latest fiscal report, the !udget deficit for 0cto!er a&ounted to
P$#%; !illion or 1,%" percent lower co&pared to the sa&e &onth last year as ta> re/enues
i&pro/ed while the National 7o/ern&ent cut down its spending%
5.he $#-&onth cu&ulati/e deficit aggregated to P"-#%, !illion or a &ere $%1 percent higher than
the sa&e period last year% .his lea/es so&e P;; !illion of deficit to !e incurred in the last two
&onths,6 the said the Mar)et 'all%
It also said that this should !e easy gi/en the 0cto!er figure%
0n the re/enue side, total re/enue reached P43%; !illion which reflected a $;%$ percent growth
co&pared to 0cto!er "##4, the Mar)et 'all also said%
.his transpired as ta> re/enues totaled P3-%$ !illion, which was $-%$
percent higher% 0f the a&ount, the Bureau of Internal 9e/enue CBI9D collected $;%- percent &ore
in 0cto!er "#$# /ersus year-ago le/els%
.he Bureau of 'usto&s CB0'D, the other re/enue agency collected "$%- percent &ore re/enues
in 0cto!er%
.otal e>penditures slowed down fro& P$",%1 !illion in (epte&!er to P$#4%# !illion in 0cto!er%
0n a year-on-year perspecti/e, this was +%; percent lower, according to the Mar)et 'all report%
5:>cluding interest pay&ents, e>penditures were down !y fi/e percent, as the National
7o/ern&ent sliced the re&aining fat in the present !udget,6 it said%
As such, =MI' and EAKP concluded in its report that with this slowing deficit trend, the P,";
!illion target deficit for "#$# would not !e capped%
@ouse starts 2011 budget re-iew
By &aolo #o.ero 319e &9ili66ine /tar5 "6dated /e6te.ber 01, 2010 12'00 >?
MANILA, Philippines L .he 8ouse of 9epresentati/es will start scrutini*ing today the proposed
P$%1+-trillion national !udget for "#$$ as the chair&an of the co&&ittee on appropriations
/owed to o!ser/e transparency in the proceedings%
'a/ite 9ep% :&ilio A!aya, chair&an of the panel, said &e&!ers of the <e/elop&ent Budget
'oordinating 'ouncil C<B''D would !e the first resource persons of the pu!lic hearing%
.he council includes =inance (ecretary 'esar Purisi&a, Budget (ecretary =lorencio A!ad, and
(ocio-econo&ic Planning (ecretary
'ayetano Paderanga%
.he <B'' &e&!ers and other finance and re/enue officials will again !e in/ited to the
co&&ittees second hearing on .hursday%
A!aya said the panel would initially tac)le the strength of the &acro-econo&ic assu&ptions
&ade !y the <B'' in crafting the !udget%
5I would encourage participation, especially a&ong the new law&a)ers, in the hearings% I urge
the& to spend ti&e studying the !udget and the !udget-&a)ing process,6 A!aya said%
8e said he would steer the hearings at 5full speed6 and 5full transparency to show the people we
ha/e nothing to hide%6
A!aya said while President Auino is his party &ate in the Li!eral Party
and !elie/es in his go/ernance agenda, he would still e>ercise his role as a 5counterchec) and
loo) at the o/erall picture%6
5Je will entertain di/ergent ideas, and I would encourage &y colleagues to &a)e suggestions,6
he said%
(pea)er =eliciano Bel&onte Ar% earlier said the cha&!er would do its !est to pass the proposed
!udget !efore yearend%
8e said he e>pects significant progress to !e &ade in the !udget deli!erations !efore 'ongress
goes on !rea) in &id-0cto!er%
5It is our hope the !udget will finally !e appro/ed !efore the end of the year so that the President
can sign it !efore the end the year% (o that is our ti&eta!le for it,6 Bel&onte said%
DIL, urges trans6arency o-er local budget
Interior and Local 7o/ern&ent (ecretary Aesse 9o!redo encouraged &ayors and go/ernors
nationwide to o!ser/e full disclosure of the !udget and finances as part of the effort to raise the
le/el of transparency and accounta!ility in local go/ern&ent units%
9o!redo said those who would co&ply would !e gi/en incenti/es fro& the perfor&ance
challenge funds%
5=ull disclosure will pa/e the way for local residents to share their efforts in !ringing a!out
desira!le de/elop&ent outco&es for their localities% After all, de/elop&ent is a shared
responsi!ility,6 he said%
5If you did not participate in the full disclosure progra&, you will not !enefit fro& the progra&,6
said 9o!redo during a press conference yesterday at the <IL7 central office in Mue*on 'ity%
9o!redo issued guidelines reuiring pro/inces, cities and &unicipalities to pu!licly disclose their
financial transactions !y posting the& in conspicuous places within their localities, or pu!lishing
in newspapers of general circulation and in their we!sites%
8e signed a &e&orandu& circular on full disclosure in the presence of representati/es of the
Leagues of Pro/inces, 'ities and Municipalities, ci/il society organi*ations and other non-
go/ern&ent organi*ations at the <IL7 office%
9o!redo said the Local 7o/ern&ent 'ode of $44$ and 9epu!lic Act 4$3+ or the 7o/ern&ent
Procure&ent 9efor& Act &andate the full disclosure of local !udget and finances, and !ids and
pu!lic offerings%
Mayors and go/ernors are reuired to post within ,# days fro& the end of each fiscal year in at
least three pu!licly accessi!le and conspicuous places in the local go/ern&ent unit a su&&ary of
all re/enues collected and funds recei/ed, including the appropriations and dis!urse&ents of
such funds during the preceding fiscal year%
0n the other hand, 9A 4$3+ calls for the posting of the in/itation to !id, notice of award, notice
to proceed and appro/ed contract in the procuring entitys pre&ises, in newspapers of general
circulation, the Philippine 7o/ern&ent :lectronic Procure&ent (yste& CPhil7:P(D and the
we!site of the procuring entity%
Ender the guidelines, go/ernors, city and &unicipal &ayors are directed to pu!licly disclose
their transactions, particularly their annual !udget with ite&s as to personal ser/ices,
&aintenance and operating e>penses and capital outlay2 uarterly state&ent of cash flows%
9o!redo also ordered the Philippine National Police CPNPD to restructure its !udget to !e a!le to
increase the &onthly allowance of police&en in police stations nationwide%
8e said that at present, the PNP is allocating only P1;# a &onth for e/ery police&an in a police
station for office supplies, intelligence fund and other operating e>penses%
Jith the restructuring, 9o!redo noted the PNP found a way to increase the &onthly allowance of
a police&an in a police station fro& P1;# to P-+# and finally P4;#% If there were "# police&en
in a station, 9o!redo said the PNP will gi/e the& P$4,###%
9o!redo said the local go/ern&ent units should pro/ide financial assistance to the local police
stations%
8e is also loo)ing into the possi!ility of i&ple&enting shortcuts in the release of operational
!udget for local police units%
Ender the present setup, 9o!redo said the PNP headuarters releases the operational allowances
to the police regional offices, which would then release to the pro/incial offices and finally to the
city or &unicipal police stations%
Meanwhile, the National Enion of (tudents of the Philippines CNE(PD decried the huge cuts on
the !udgets of different state uni/ersities and colleges C(E'sD for acade&ic year "#$$-$", saying
the decreasing support !eing gi/en to go/ern&ent schools will &a)e afforda!le uality education
inaccessi!le to poor !ut deser/ing =ilipino youths%
Fanessa =aye Boli!ol, secretary-general of the NE(P, said that the s&aller !udget support for
(E's was contrary to the pro&ise of President Auino that he will prioriti*e education in his
ad&inistration%
.he Eni/ersity of the Philippines !udget would !e cut !y P$%,4 !illion, fro& P1%4 !illion in
"#$# to P;%; in "#$$% .he Philippine Nor&al Eni/ersity will get a P4"-&illion reduction, fro&
P,3- &illion this year to P"41 &illion ne>t acade&ic year% .he Polytechnic Eni/ersity of the
Philippines gets a P$;#-&illion !udget cut fro& P3$4 &illion in "##4 to P1-" &illion in "#$$%
5Budget cuts to education are the sa&e as a!andoning the go/ern&ents responsi!ility to
guarantee e/ery =ilipinos right to education% 9eduction of state funding to (E's ser/ed as the
rationale of school ad&inistrators to de/ice inco&e-generating &echanis&s such as increasing
tuition and other school fees, in order to aug&ent the lac) of what the go/ern&ent should
pro/ide,6 Boli!ol said% Ait9 =ecile /uerte Feli6e, #ainier >llan #onda