Senator Franklin Drilon on Tuesday sponsored the proposed P1.816-trillion national budget for 2012 and also recommended several amendments to the version proposed by the House of Representatives. "As chairman of the Senate finance committee on finance, it is my humble submission that the President's 012 national budget deserves our full support. We therefore seek its immediate enactment," Drilon said on the Senate floor. Drilon explained that House Bill 5023 or the General Appropriations Bill, which he dubbed as a "results-focused budget," reflects the five priorities of the Aquino administration's "social contract" with the Filipino people as defined in executive order 43 dated May 13, 2011. Among these priorities are:
Governance that is transparent, accountable, and participatory Empowerment of the poor and vulnerable, and poverty reduction Economic growth that is sustainable, inclusive and rapid Peace that is lasting and just, and strengthening the rule of law Integrity of the environment and climate change adaptation and mitigation To accomplish these priorities, Drilon said the P23.4-billion budget for 67,132 unfilled positions shall be added to the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and shall only be released once a position is filled. He added that unused budget for unfilled positions shall revert back to the treasury. Aside from this, he said they have proposed an amendment that will require all agencies, including GOCCS, to submit to the President and Congress a quarterly report on their use of intelligence and confidential funds. Drilon also said his committee is pushing for the approval in full of the P39-billion budget for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which is expected to benefit three million households by January 2012. He likewise said they will be seeking an amendment of that will authorize the release of P12 billion for the payment of the PHilHealth premiums of 5.2 million indigent households nationwide, without having to amend the PHilHealth charter. He added that they will be seeking the transfer of P750 million to the Local Water Utilities Administration for third level potable water projects. Drilon said they will also be seeking the restoration of the P811 million budget for irrigation that was earlier slashed by the House of Representatives. He said they are also proposing a P100.943-million cut in the allocation for discretionary funds for the governor and vice-governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) due to corruption in the region as reported by the Commission on Audit. On the other hand, he said his committee is not endorsing the House amendment which increased the budget of the Department of Justice by P200 million for the JUSIP (Justice System Infrastructure Program) and P100 million for the DOJ building. "Your committee does not endorse the House amendments, and further recommends a cut of P33 million budgeted for an NJIS (National Justice Information System) program, which is already being undertaken by the NBI," he said. Starting Tuesday, the Senate will be holding daily sessions both in the morning and afternoon to deliberate on next year's proposed budget. Drilon said they aim to finish the plenary debates by November 18 and approve the budget on third and final reading by November 21. He said a bicameral conference committee may be called between November 23 to 28 to reconcile the versions of the two Houses. The 2012 budget is 10.4 percent higher than the 2011 budget. — RSJ, GMA News 
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