The House of Representatives approved on second reading late Friday night (September 27, 2013) the proposed P2.268-trillion national budget for 2014 minus the lump-sum appropriations of P25.24 billion for the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
The proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2014 under House Bill 2630 also contains several safeguards in the disbursement of public funds to help promote and ensure transparency and accountability.
"The House has moved to abolish the age-old PDAF not only as a response to public outcry but as a first step towards arresting any possible abuse of the same, even as we continue to explore the best possible alternative means to still afford our people with the social services and other needs they require," said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.
The proposed GAA is also devoid of the P200-M PDAF for the Office of the Vice President.
As earlier proposed by the House leadership during the plenary debates, the fund intended for the PDAF will instead be allocated to the various priority programs that would directly benefit the people and promote inclusive growth. For hard or infrastructure projects, specific projects would have to be identified and included in the proposed GAA before its approval on third reading in mid-October.
To ensure the strict implementation of public funds under the proposed GAA, the House put in place the following safeguards and prohibitions: (1) no download of funds to NGOs; (2) full disclosure; (3) no download of projects outside of the congressional districts; (4) strict adherence to the Procurement Law and the use of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PHILGEPS) and its facilities in all procurement activities; (5) third-party monitoring on the implementation of the programs and projects; and (6) the DBM and the respective heads of the implementing agencies and their administrators shall be responsible for ensuring that the following information, as may be applicable, are posted in their respective website: (i) name, location and cost of projects; (ii) All releases and realignments; (iii) Status of implementation; and (iv) project evaluation and/or assessment reports.
Belmonte, who is also the honorary chairman of the National Unity Party (NUP), thanked the Deputy Speakers; the chairman of the appropriations committee, Rep. Isidro Ungab, and its members; Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and his assistant majority leaders, and Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora for leading the plenary deliberations and scrutiny of the proposed national budget for 2014.
The Deputy Speakers who took turns presiding over the marathon deliberations were Representatives Roberto Puno (1st district, Antipolo) of the NUP; Henedina Abad (Lone district, Batanes), Giorgidi Aggabao (4th district, Isabela), Sergio Apostol (2nd district, Leyte), Pangalian Balindong (2nd district, Lanao del Sur) and Carlos Padilla (Lone district, Nueva Vizcaya).
"I am grateful for the patience and full cooperation from the officers and representatives of all agencies of the Executive Department, the Constitutional Offices and other stakeholders for their valuable inputs during the entire budget process," Belmonte said.
In accordance with constitutional provisions, the Department of Education gets the largest share in the proposed GAA with a budget of P336.9 billion.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) got the second largest share of the budget pie with P213.5-billion.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) gets P135.4-billion, while and the Department of National Defense (DND)’s share was P123.1-billion.
The Department of Health (DOH) gets P87.1 billion; Department of Agriculture, P80.7 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development, P79.0 billion; Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), P48.7 billion;
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ‘s budget is P23.9 billion, while the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has P20.4 billion.
The House-endorsed GAA authorizes the utilization of P796.029-billion, which is deemed automatically appropriated as these were previously authorized under pertinent laws and therefore outside the purview of the proposed bill.
The measure, among others, authorizes the enactment of funds amounting to P1.612-trillion, consisting of P1.472-trillion of Programmed Appropriations and P140-billion in Un-programmed Appropriations as standby fund should revenue exceed targets or new loans be secured to support these proposed budgets.
The proposed GAA assumes a total outstanding National Government Debt of P6.3-trillion by the end of 2014 or a debt-to-GDP ratio of 46.8 percent, compared to the P5.8-trillion by the end of 2013 or a debt-to-GDP ratio of 48.7 percent.
The proposed spending measure assumes a GDP growth rate of 6.0 - 7.0 percent in 2013 and expects it to accelerate further to 6.5 - 7.5 percent in 2014.