Senate OKs 2011 budget with no CCT cuts on 3rd reading

The Senate on Wednesday evening voted 12-2 to approve on third reading the proposed P1.645-trillion national budget for 2011 without any cuts on the controversial P21-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. "We approved the budget as submitted by the President and approved by the House. The total budget has not been changed," Finance committee chairman Senator Franklin Drilon said. Only Senators Pia Cayetano and Joker Arroyo, who were both from the opposition, voted against the approval of the P1,000,387,764,000 budget for new appropriations and unprogrammed funds. Drilon could not immediately identify the specific amendments on the proposed 2011 budget, saying that the Upper House approved the total figure to beat its deadline and that it would read the amendments into record on Friday. However, he said the P21-billion budget for the CCT remains intact despite the opposition earlier expressed by some senators. "The CCT is approved in total, the CCT is approved without cuts," Drilon said. On the other hand, he said the Senate augmented the budget for state universities and colleges (SUC), adding that "at the very least," the budget for maintenance and operational expenses of SUCs will be maintained in 2011. "They will not suffer any cuts," he said. He noted, however, that the Upper House cannot bring back the congressional insertions that were vetoed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last year. "We cannot reinstate the P1.7B which were vetoed effectively by Pres. Arroyo," he said. Drilon said the Senate will source the increase in some allocations from other items in the 2011 budget. "There would be realignments and adjustments so that we can accommodate some of the adjustments agreed upon," he said. Among these is the Department of Health's P880-million budget for family planning, which will be slashed by the Senate. However, Drilon said they have yet to determine how much will be cut from the budget. Safeguards for CCT Malacañang had earlier urged allies of President Benigno Aquino III in the Senate not to slash the proposed P21-billion budget for the CCT program which was scrutinized by the chamber. In a press briefing on Wednesday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte assured lawmakers that there are "safeguards" that will ensure that the CCT program will be implemented properly next year. The Aquino administration's proposed budget for the CCT program, which was begun under the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo then expanded by the current government, has been the subject of extensive debate in Congress. Several lawmakers, including Aquino's allies in the Senate Francis Escudero and Francis Pangilinan, have questioned the P21-billion allocation for the CCT for next year, which is nearly half the P12-billion budget for the program for 2010. (See: Solons scrutinize CCT; Bongbong seeks P8B-cut) Miriam Defensor-Santiago was the latest senator to call for a smaller allocation for the CCT, during the deliberations before the Senate approved the proposed 2011 budget on third reading. (See: Miriam backs calls to slash CCT budget) Under the proposed CCT program for next year, 2.3 million families will get a monthly stipend of P1,400. The program is part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) P29.2-billion Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Valte said the Palace is "confident that the senators will see that safeguards have been put in place" such as purging the DSWD’s list of beneficiaries to ensure that only genuinely poor families benefit from the program.—With Jam L. Sisante/KBK/JV, GMANews.TV