Drilon still pessimistic over budget’s passage

With half of the year nearly over, outgoing Senate President Franklin Drilon remains pessimistic that the 2006 national budget will be passed anymore due to the failure of both chambers of Congress to patch up differences in their respective versions of the budget.

"I don’t think that there is any hope that we will have a budget for 2006. I don’t see the bicameral conference committee working during this break. When we come back in July, the President will be already submitting the 2007 budget," Drilon said, adding that "there is no sense" in continuing work on it.

Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, however, is hoping that the budget will be passed during the congressional recess.

"We’re still hoping that the executive department will have a change of heart, that we can still find a middle ground. The Senate has always been open to the realignment of some of the budget cuts. But it’s still a matter of finding a common ground," Pangilinan said.

He said there would be no breakthrough if the Palace will stick to its "take it or leave it" position by rejecting Senate’s cuts in two funding programs suspected by the chamber to be merely pork barrel.

Pangilinan warned the Palace against excesses in the use of the reenacted 2005 budget. Under the law, the government runs on a budget similar to the previous year’s if passage of a new budget is delayed.

"In the same way that the Senate exercises its investigation in aid of legislation, we will exercise its oversight functions to monitor public expenditures in the (so-called pork) which maybe realigned... We will act as a check on the executive department," Pangilinan said.

Since there is no approved budget, Drilon has accepted the idea that the Arroyo administration would be working on a reenacted budget this year.

To avoid too much realignment of funding, which is perceived to be a source of major corruption, Drilon urged the Commission on Audit to make sure that the funds are used properly.

A reenacted budget would allow President Arroyo to realign some of last year’s budget of P907.56-billion. Mrs. Arroyo is reported to have under her authority to dispose at least P48 billion under a reenactment budget.

Reports said Mrs. Arroyo said a reenacted budget would give the Chief Executive full discretion on how to spend the P21 billion in non-repeating projects and P27.7 billion in interests savings from the 2005 budget. Non-repeating budget are items that have been completed and fully financed under the 2005 budget.

"This is precisely the difficulty of having a reenacted budget. There is so much discretion given to the President. We just have to rely on the COA to make sure that the funds are properly disbursed," said Drilon.

He said Congress should just move on and start focusing its energy on scrutinizing the 2007 budget, which is expected to be presented to Congress during the annual State of the Nation Address next month.

"It’s not a matter of preference. That’s the reality," Drilon said when asked if Congress should start looking into next year’s budget to ensure that it will be passed in time.