Opposition to scrutinize CCT, special purpose funds in 2012 budget debates

The minority bloc at the House of Representatives is planning to question two major issues on the proposed P1.816-trillion budget for 2012 when the chamber starts its plenary debates on the national expenditure program this week, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday. Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez identified the additional P16 billion for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program and the P23.4-billion special purpose fund for unfilled government positions as two of the “contentious" issues the opposition bloc plans to challenge during the budget deliberations. “The minority will definitely make suggestions on realignment. We are particularly concerned with the budget for the CCT," he said in a phone interview on Sunday. The Aquino government wants P39 billion from the proposed 2012 budget to go to the CCT program—an 89-percent increase from the P23 billion allotted for the project this year. Suarez said the House minority might propose that some of budget for the CCT be realigned to the Department of Education and the Department of Health. “Dito naman sa mga ipo-propose naming realignments, our emphasis will be health, education and agriculture," he said. Plenary discussions on the proposed 2012 budget are set to begin on Tuesday. Special purpose fund Suarez said they will also question the constitutionality of the administration’s move to place P23.4 billion in automatic appropriations for 2012 in a special purpose fund that can only be accessed once the office fills up its vacant posts. “That is a legal issue. It might be Minority Leader [Edcel] Lagman who will tackle that," he said. Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, House appropriations committee chairperson, earlier explained that the special purpose fund, formally known as the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, was put in place to ensure transparency in the filling up of government positions. He, however, admitted that the move to create the special purpose fund may face “legal issues" especially among fiscally autonomous agencies. At the Senate, Sen. Joker Arroyo, a vocal critic of the Aquino administration, said the provision in the proposed budget requires constitutional offices outside the jurisdiction of the executive department like the Supreme Court to seek permission from the Department of Budget and Management before they can fill a vacancy. “Ngayong itong bagong budget na ito... may restriction na. Ang ginawa, lahat na mga [pondo] for unfilled positions, nilagay sa one lump sum na total ng P101 billion. That’s for the constitutional agencies. So if any of the constitutional agencies like the Supreme Court, kung mag-fill-up ng position ng judge or clerk or court, they have to now notify the Budget secretary, who will in turn decide whether to release the money or not," Arroyo said in an interview on dzBB radio earlier in the day. He said this smacks of a Palace attempt to control the agencies, particularly the Supreme Court. He branded the party behind the move as an “evil genius." Under Sec. 3, Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution, “(t)he Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the Judiciary may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the previous year and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released." On the other hand, Section 5, Art. IX of the Constitution states that the Constitutional Commissions “shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Their approved annual appropriations shall be automatically and regularly released." Section 1 of Art. IX identifies the constitutional commissions as the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Elections, and the Commission on Audit. Arroyo said both Houses of Congress are also independent offices, being in the legislative branch. Drilon defends provision An administration ally, meanwhile, defended the provision, saying it was meant to curb abuses. According to Senate finance committee chairman Franklin Drilon, there is no need to seek permission from Malacañang in getting funds for hiring personnel. “Yan pag nag-appoint ang ahensya automatic ang release, di kailangan ng permiso, kailangan lang mag-appoint," he said in a separate interview on dzBB. He said the provision aimed to stop the abuses in the past where an agency would hire ghost employees, and use the ghost employees’ salaries as bonuses. — KBK, GMA News