Aquino told to assess effects of Juan on 2011 budget

The Aquino administration should assess the effect of the damage brought about by super typhoon Juan on the 2011 budget and make the necessary adjustments if needed, Senator Ralph Recto said. "Typhoon Juan has just planted itself to be one big macroeconomic assumption on the national budget next year. For sure, the damage it has created will affect our spending and sourcing of funds," Recto said in a statement on Tuesday. The senator, who heads the Senate committee on ways and means, said the onslaught might affect the growth targets set by the administration for this year and in 2011. "How will these affect the country's fourth quarter growth or its overall growth targets for 2011? The administration may need to revisit its targets and take into consideration the recent onslaught," he said. Recto explained that the damage caused by Juan will force the administration to make a separate allocation for rehabilitation projects. "We cannot ignore the impact of the lossess we incurred because of the typhoon. It would also take funds to rehabilitate what was lost like roads, bridges, and other public structures," he said. He likewise said the damage caused by Juan on crops, estimated to be over P7 billion, might force the country to import products that would otherwise have been available domestically. "Given these facts, does this mean we have to import rice next year given that Cagayan Valley, which was badly hit by the typhoon, is the second largest producer of rice in the country," he said. Recto and Senator Francis Pangilinan had earlier sought a budget allocation for the typhoon victims and the repair of infrastructures damaged by Juan. Recto suggested that the government draw "emergency" funding from savings from interest debt payments and the remaining funds from this year’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. - VVP, GMANews.TV