Govt proposes additional P16B for CCT program

The government wants an additional P16 billion to fund its conditional cash transfer (CCT) program next year, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad revealed Tuesday. Abad said that in the proposed P1.8-trillion budget for 2012, P39 billion will go to the CCT program—an 89-percent increase from the P23 billion allotted for the project this year. He added that the budget increase will enable the government to increase the number of the program’s beneficiaries to three million households by the end of 2012 from the 2.1-million target this year. “This is not a dole out. This is investment in human capital because we require parents to bring their children to school, encourage them to have immunization, prenatal and maternal check-ups," Abad said in a press briefing. The increase will also help the Philippines attain the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, he added. Abad on Tuesday submitted to the House of Representatives a copy of the proposed 2012 budget. Deliberations on the budget for next year will start on Monday. During his second State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III urged Congress to allocate more funds to the CCT program, officially called the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program—one of his administration’s flagship anti-poverty programs. ‘Results-focused budget’ Abad described the proposed 2012 budget as “resource-focused" since it is in accordance with the thrusts of the Aquino administration. He said the proposed budget focused on five areas: anti-corruption and good governance, poverty reduction and the empowerment of the poor, inclusive economic growth, just and lasting peace and the rule of law, and the integrity of the environment. “Any program, project and activity will be scaled down if not all together eliminated if it is not under these five areas," he said. The Department of Education still received the biggest allocation of all government agencies, with a proposed budget of P228 billion. The department’s proposed budget increased by P22 billion compared to the allocation this year. This budget increase will fund the hiring of new teachers, construction and rehabilitation of classrooms, and procurement of new school desks and chairs, according to Abad. Budget allocation for state colleges and universities, however, further decreased to P23.6 billion for 2012 from P23.7 billion this year. The Department of Public Works and Highways, meanwhile, got a P14.9-billion budget increase for next year under the proposal, which Abad said will be used to fund the administration’s goal to complete the national road and bridge network by 2016. — KBK, GMA News