Drilon assures passage of 2011 budget before yearend
Senator Franklin Drilon assured the public that Congress will be able to ratify the P1.645-trillion national budget for 2011 before the end of the year to make sure that the government will not operate on a reenacted budget and to avoid delays in the Aquino administration's priority projects. In comparison, the 2010 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) was only signed into law by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in February this year, forcing the government to operate on a reenacted budget for more than a month. But Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said he was confident that they can pass the 2011 GAB before the year ends. “We are confident that we are going to meet the deadline. By January 1, 2011, we will have a new budget," he said. The senator explained that they expect to get the 2011 GAB in the Senate between November 8 to 12 and review it between November 15 to 22. The House of Representatives approved the GAB on second reading last October 16, just before Congress went on its three-week break. (See: House OKs P1.6-T budget for 2011 on 2nd reading) On the other hand, Drilon said the Senate may finish its plenary debates by November and approve the budget on second and third reading by December 1 or 2. He said that the bicameral conference committee will be convened on December 6 to tackle disagreements in the House and Senate versions of the budget. Congress resumes session on November 8 and will go on its holiday break on December 18. Last August 24, President Benigno Aquino III submitted to Congress his proposed P1.645-trillion national budget, which Budget secretary Florencio Abad termed a “reform budget." The proposed budget is P104 billion more, or 6.8 percent higher, than the 2010 budget, Abad said. Drilon lined up some of the key allocations per sector in the 2011 budget, as follows
- P207.3 billion for education;
- P110.6 billion for public works;
- P104.7 billion for defense;
- P88.2 billion for interior and local government;
- P37.7 billion for agriculture;
- P34.3 billion for social welfare;
- P33.3 billion for health;
- P32.2 billion for transportation and communications;
- P16.7 billion for agrarian reform; and
- P14.3 billion for the judiciary.