Govt to prioritize education, health services in 2011 budget spending

Education and health services will be the priorities once the government starts spending the P1.645-trillion budget for 2011, President Benigno Aquino III said Thursday. In an ambush interview in Manila, Aquino said certain projects of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DOH) will immediately get funding once the new year starts. "May hinahabol tayong madama nga ang pagbabago na magkaroon ng sobrang momentum, ipagpapatuloy ng sino mang susunod. So to that end, pagkakaintindi ko ang DepEd gusto na talagang umpisahan ang paggawa ng 13,000 classrooms, pag-uumpisa ng pagha-hire ng mga teachers," he said. (We are trying to pursue changes and we want to achieve a momentum that can be sustained by the next administration. So to that end, from what I understand the DepEd really wants to start building 13,000 more classrooms and hiring more teachers.) "Yung DOH kausap ko two days ago, pinag-uusapan namin yung pangangilangan nila at kung saan kukunin at nakahanap kami ng kakailanganin nila (I talked to the DOH two days ago about their needs and how these can be addressed and we have found a way)," he added. Aquino said the DOH plans to deploy nurses to rural health units to take "midwife positions" where needed. He also said they are consulting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to make sure that such an endeavor is allowed under the law. "Pinakamalaking bahagi doon, yung perang gagamitin para suwelduhan at mabigyan ng allowances itong kakulangan natin sa health practitioners ay nandiyan (The biggest part of this is that the funds needed for the salary and allowances of these health practitioners are in place)," he said. Aquino said that aside from social services, the government also wants to start embarking on public-private partnerships right away. Under the setup, the government will partner with private firms for big infrastructure projects. Aquino signed the 2011 budget last Monday, the first time in 11 years that the budget was signed the same year it was proposed. In his speech, Aquino said the early signing of the budget "will enable us to address the urgent needs of our people in a timely manner," adding that these urgent needs include the establishment of more rural health units, immunization for children, construction of new classrooms, and hiring of new teachers. Budget Secretary Butch Abad said the social services sector got the lion's share of the budget at 34.1 percent — a 16.8 percent increase from its 2010 budget, the highest among all the sectors.- KBK, GMANews.TV