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Social services to get 'significant' boost in 2011 budget


Allocations for social services such as education and health will be significantly boosted in the proposed national budget for 2011, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Thursday. In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Abad said there would be "significant" increases in the budget allocations for basic education, public health, social protection through conditional cash transfers, and safety nets for calamity victims in the proposed budget for next year. Because of the zero-based budgeting system the Aquino government is following, the budget was carefully reviewed and "there will be budget items that will be decreased and expanded," Abad said. In “zero-based budgeting," every agency is required to justify its budget request in complete detail starting from scratch (thus, “zero base"), and all expenditures must be reviewed and approved, not just the increases over the previous budget. "What is clear is there will be a significant increase in basic education," said the budget chief, who held the education portfolio during the Arroyo administration. Abad, however, said he could not give figures yet, as the Department of Budget and Management is still reworking its proposal to include the inputs made by Cabinet members during their nearly five-hour meeting earlier. For the year 2010, education — including allocations for the Department of Education, state colleges and universities and Commission on Higher Education — received the mandated lion's share with P185.477 billion. The allocation for health amounted to P30.404 billion, while social welfare and development received around P15 billion. The Aquino government had earlier complained that the P2 billion allocation of the previous Arroyo administration for calamity funds was too small, prompting President Benigno Aquino III to re-allocate P1.75 billion to the said fund, from first-semester savings. (See: Aquino reallocates P1.75-B to calamity funds) Abad said the government cannot automatically increase or decrease the allocation for debt servicing — which has been widely criticized by anti-debt service advocates — as the budget for it is "automatically appropriated" and "previously determined." Abad, however, assured that the proposed 2011 budget will not go higher than the initially proposed ceiling of P1.757 trillion, which is 14 percent more than the P1.54-trillion budget for 2010. (See: P1.757-trillion budget eyed for 2011) Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that aside from social services, priorities in the 2011 budget include economic services such as increased infrastructure spending and creating fiscal space for public and private partnerships; proper addressing of security and climate-change concerns to ensure a "stable and safe environment;" and the establishment of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. In a separate press conference on Thursday, Lacierda said there will still be an allocation for lawmakers' Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel, which is perceived to be a source of corruption in government. However, he stressed that the Aquino administration will be strict in enforcing guidelines for transparency in using public funds. "It will now be required that with respect to fiscal releases, procurement, and implementation of projects will be posted in the Department of Budget and Management website and also the websites of the appropriate agencies concerned," he said. The Palace spokesman said Aquino, who was known for carefully scrutinizing the budget during his stint as congressman and senator, will study the revised budget proposal before Malacañang hands it over to Congress on August 25.—JV, GMANews.TV

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