Government poised to overcome P200-B budget deficit this year

President Arroyo is confident that her administration will overcome the country’s projected P200-billion deficit with the help of Congress.

At her first press conference at Malacañang yesterday, the Chief Executive said Finance Secretary Alberto Romulo, in consultation with Congress, had drawn up a plan to "address" the deficit.

"The new administration is putting together its own revenue efforts, new revenue-raising schemes that Secretary Romulo is still considering," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the lone priority bill of her administration is the proposed 2001 General Appropriations Act, and that they will raise government revenues without imposing more taxes.

Romulo, on instructions of Mrs. Arroyo, told reporters yesterday that the government has registered a P130 billion budgetary deficit last year.

Of this number, at least P70 billion are unpaid accounts, he added.

Romulo said the government will have to pay "contingent liabilities" from the previous administration.

"I hope by the year 2004, we would have a balanced budget," he said. "But I was immediately corrected by many analysts that the earliest we would have a balanced budget, if at all, with an austerity budget every year will be 2006. So I’d like to be one in the optimistic side."

Romulo said Mrs. Arroyo’s economic team was not only looking at austerity measures but also other revenue-raising measures and tax-collection efforts.

The government will review the tax collection efforts of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, its two principal revenue-raising agencies, he added. — Marichu Villanueva