Miriam hits redefined savings, pork barrel in 2015 budget

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday assailed the constitutionality of the proposed 2015 budget that contains two "dangerous minefields."

In a televised privilege speech, Santiago said the 2015 budget is vulnerable to corruption due to the new definition of government savings and the retention of pork barrel or lump-sum funds to be spent at the discretion of the legislators.

"In other words, the 2015 budget which contains two dangerous minefields leading to corruption, is not what people expect. It is what administration candidates expect," she said.

"Ito ang tinatawag na hyper-presidentialism. Sumobra na ang abot ng executive branch ng ating gobyerno," Santiago also said of the two "minefields."

Santiago said the new definition of "savings" is unconstitutional for being over-broad and vague. She pointed out that under Section 68 of the proposed budget, savings can be declared at any time for whatever might be considered "justifiable reasons."

The senator said the old definition is better since it allowed savings only after final discontinuance or abandonment of the work, activity, or purpose.

"The redefinition of savings demolishes and overturns not only the constitutional and legislated meaning of savings; it goes against the generally accepted meaning of the word itself. We might be the only country in this world which declares savings at any time," Santiago said.

"Since the private sector has a different meaning of savings, books on accounting, auditing, and financial management will have to be changed," she added. "Ganoon katapang ang mga taga-Malakanyang. Papalitan nila ang bokabularyo."

Santiago is urging her colleagues to reject the new definition of savings introduced by the lower chamber and retain instead the original definition.

She added that the Senate should not approve the budget unless the redefinitions are removed.

Pork barrel revived?

Santiago said the term "Priority Development Assistance Fund" (PDAF) or the lawmakers' pork barrel was avoided in the 2014 budget.

The absence of the term PDAF, however, was merely "illusory," Santiago said, since P25.4 billion was transferred to five agencies with legislators still in control of the projects.

Santiago believes that the same thing is happening in the 2015 budget.

"Let me raise a BIG question about the 2015 budget. Last summer, why were representatives asked to submit lists of projects they endorsed for their districts? I understand that the form distributed did not bear any letterhead," the senator said.

She explained that the 2015 budget, at least P37.3 billion worth of projects are allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Commission on Higher Education.