AS THE 16TH CONGRESS prepares to review Malacanang’s budget proposal for 2014, a citizens watchdog group says civil society organizations and concerned citizens should also start polishing their magnifying lenses to carefully scrutinize government’s spending proposal.
In particular, Social Watch Philippines says people should get ready to pick apart controversial allocations such as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more commonly known as the pork barrel, and other lump-sum funds that have bloated the 2014 budget.
Social Watch head and former National Treasurer Leonor Briones said the need to scrutinize these allocations has gained greater urgency following allegations that up to ten billion pesos in pork barrel funds had been channeled to ghost non-government organizations in the last decade. The PDAF takes up P25 billion of government’s budget annually, with each Congressman allowed to identify P70 million worth of projects, and each Senator P200 million.
As well, Briones stressed the need to scrutinize other pork-like lump-sum funds for the Executive in the national budget. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) found that more than half of the P2.96 trillion national budget for this year had gone to the Special Purpose Funds (SPF) and other lump-sum funds.
In all, P317.5 billion had been set aside this year for Special Purpose Funds, with another P117.5 billion in unprogrammed funds. These include an allocation of P44 billion as Budgetary Support to Government Corporations, Special Financial Assistance to Local Government Units for P17 billion, Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund of P70 billion, Retirement Benefits Fund of P70 billion, and Priority Social and Economic Projects Fund of P22 billion.
“Social Watch Philippines and the Alternative Budget Initiative or ABI will particularly scrutinize the Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel and the transfers and allocations for the government’s Special Purpose Funds,” Social Watch said in a statement to the media.
“Department allocations will also be assessed by the Initiative, particularly the allocations for health, education, agriculture, social welfare, and the environment,” the statement said.
Briones also asked that the Department of Budget and Management submit regular reports on the use of the SPF to the House appropriations committee and the Senate finance committee. Briones said that if the DBM waits until the end of the year to submit its reports to the committees, it would already be too late for Congress to exercise its check and balance function.
“(The quarterly reports are) required by the appropriations law,” Briones said. “If they only submit reports at the end of the year, the transfers would already be done without scrutiny from the public. It would already be too late.”
Social Watch has been advocating the abolition of the pork barrel and the SPF, insisting that the funds be allocated directly to government departments so that there is more transparency and accountability in the use of the money.
“Less than half of the P2.268 trillion budget of the budget is allocated to the government departments and offices,” Briones added. “How much of the other half goes to SPFs or debt servicing? The pork barrel is being used by the Executive as a bargaining chip with Congress so its submitted budget gets approved with less opposition.”