P1.757-trillion budget eyed for 2011

The government is proposing a P1.757-trillion budget for next year, 14% more than this year’s P1.54-trillion outlay, as it seeks to spend more on infrastructure and social services. "Because of the tight fiscal position, we have been underinvesting in social services like maternal health care and education but we have MDG (Millennium Development Goals) requirements in 2015 so we want to spend more on that," Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said on Friday. Failure to invest in infrastructure has also affected the country’s competitiveness, Mr. Abad added, such that "it has become costly to do business in the Philippines and we have low investor confidence." "We want to change that." The Department of Education will likely get the largest allocation, he said without providing details, as the government wants to "address the classroom gap and teacher gap". Other priorities for 2011 are health care, conditional cash transfers for the poor, safety nets for those vulnerable to calamities and reforms for good governance. Discussions with government agencies on their 2011 spending programs should be finished by the end of the month so that the Budget department can present its proposal to the President and the Cabinet by August 5. "Our target is to present the budget to Congress on August 24," Mr. Abad said. - BusinessWorld