THE Duterte administration will allocate some P23.5 billion to fund congressional projects of 294 members of the House of Representatives under the proposed national budget for 2017.
The proposed allocation will be submitted Monday to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, and should be ratified by Congress on or before Dec. 14.
On July 6, the Department of Budget and Management said it would submit the proposed 2017 national budget of P3.3 trillion to Congress on Aug. 15.
Alvarez said P80 million would go to each lawmaker of the House of Representatives with a total amount of P23.5 billion.
The allocation is much higher than the P70 million in pork barrel allocated to every congressional district to fund scholarships, medical and burial assistance, infrastructure and other programs for the poor in the past.
Under the Aquino administration, a senator received a P200-million fund to implement priority projects.
Alvarez, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan secretary-general, said the allocation cannot be considered pork barrel, which the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional in 2013 because the allotments were not made as a lump sum and were included in the budget as line items.
Alvarez said he believed Congress will be able to pass the 2017 budget ahead of time.
“Between now and November, we’ll prioritize deliberations for the national budget,” he said.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, House majority floor leader and PDP-Laban stalwart, said Congress will ratify the 2017 General Appropriations Bill on Dec. 14.
“We will pass [the budget] in time for the President to sign it into the General Appropriations Act on or before we adjourn on Dec.14. This will be the first national expenditure program of the President. We will see his priorities for his first year in office,” he said.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, pledged to ensure that sufficient budget would be allocated to the programs and projects of the Duterte administration.
“Immediately after NEP is submitted by Secretary [Benjamin] Diokno, we will have one week to scrutinize its contents. Thereafter, on Aug. 22, we can begin with the budget briefings until Sept. 13. On Sept. 19, we will bring the budget to the floor for plenary debates,” he said.
He said on Aug. 22, the development budget coordinating committee will make a presentation of the budget overview, including the macro-economic assumptions, projected borrowings and sources of funds for the annual operations.
The committee is an inter-agency body composed of DBM, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Finance and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Also on Sunday, Health Secretary Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial said the government will expand eye care services to communities.
Ubial noted that having a blind member in a family amounts to “a double whammy” that can lead to poverty and social dependency.
Because of this, Ubial cited the need to integrate eye care into public health programs at the local government unit level. With Macon Ramos-Araneta