|
Since 2004 senators have tried to spite President Arroyo by
rejecting her general appropriations proposal. They only succeeded
in gifting her with “reenacted” budgets that allowed Malacañang
to realign state funds at will.
The senators have learned their
lesson—apparently. Now they are pressing for a resolution to the
budget deadlock. For one, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel
acknowledges that lawmakers win nothing by failing to agree on the
P1.126-trillion budget for 2007.
“Only the President stands to gain from any
failure to break the deadlock,” says the opposition leader,
“since this will mean that the budget will be converted into a one
big pork barrel or discretionary [fund] that she can easily divert
to projects that are meant to boost her political stock or and the
winning chances of her chosen or favored candidates in the [midterm]
elections in May.”
Pimentel urges the Senate and House panels in
the bicameral conference committee to resolve their differences over
the budget even before the regular congressional session resumes
January 22.
The stalemate arose from the congressmen’s
objection to the senators’ move to transfer P4.7 billion from the
Food-for-School Program of the Department of Education to the
construction of new school buildings and hiring of additional
teachers.
Benefit of stronger peso
Another senator, Ralph Recto, proposes a formula
that would fund both the food-for-school program and the
construction of more schools.
“In the first place, this should not be an
either-or situation in which you choose one over the other. Why not
choose both so that children can have their food and their new
classrooms?” says Recto.
He says “budget space” can be created to
accommodate “two worthwhile programs that should not be made to
compete against each other for funds.”
He urges a reduction in debt-service allocations
in view of the strong peso, “a move that will free enough
resources to fund school initiatives.”
Recto says next year’s P318.8-billion
allocation for debt service “is padded by at least P6.6 billion
due to imprecise foreign exchange assumption.” The foreign
component of the debt service fund was computed using a P53:$1
exchange rate, above the projected average for 2007.
At the Philippine Dealing System the peso has
been trading below P49 to the greenback, well within analysts’
projection that the government’s good fiscal numbers would keep
the peso below the P50:$1 level this year.
Interest expense
The government is scheduled to pay its foreign
creditors $2.209 billion in interest expense. According to the
proposed budget, the payment would amount to P117.06
billion—calculated at P53:$1.
By adopting a “lower but realistic” P50:$1
rate, interest payments on foreign liabilities will go down to
P110.45 billion, Recto says. “This will free up P6.6 billion in
non-productive expense for social services.”
He says: “I am recommending that this be used
for education project instead. This debt-for-education scheme can
end the deadlock over the budget.”
|
