MANILA, Philippines – Inalis ng Senado ang nasa P60 bilyon ng realignment na ipinakilala ng House of Representatives sa proposed budget ng Department of Agriculture-Office of the Secretary (DA-OSec) at National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
Ito ang ibinahagi ni Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III kasabay ng plenary deliberations ng proposed 2024 national budget kung saan ang appropriations umano ng DA-OSec ay tinapyasan mula sa P114 billion sa bersyon ng Kamara, at naging P92.1 billion na lamang sa bersyon ng Senado.
“On what issues did we disagree with the House? Kasi binabaan po natin ang House version by P22 billion. Malaking halaga po yon. That’s why I just want to ask what are the big shifts po in the budget starting from the House version,” ani Pimentel.
“That means marami pa palang issues to be threshed out at the [bicameral conference committee level] as far as the budget of the DA is concerned,” dagdag pa niya.
Ayon naman kay Senador Cynthia Villar na nag-depensa sa badyet ng DA, nasa P2 bilyon sa P22 billion ay loan proceeds na inilipat ng Senado mula sa DA-Osec patungo sa unprogrammed funds.
“They transferred from the Office of the Secretary to the unprogrammed funds. That’s usually the way they do it here in the Senate. But it’s still there, except that it’s transferred to another account,” ani Villar.
Para sa nalalabing P20 bilyon, sinabi ni Villar na ang pondong nakalaan para sa Agribusiness and Marketing Services ay inalis mula sa DA-OSec dahil kulang umano ito ng ‘justification’ sa paggagamitan.
“The P20 billion was given by the House to AMAS, the Agribusiness and Marketing Services, P20 billion, but they did not explain how it will be spent kaya tinanggal ng Senado ‘yon. So that’s a total of P22 billion,” ani Villar.
Ibinahagi din ng senador na tinaasan ng Kamara ang badyet ng NIA mula P41 bilyon na original proposal ng ahensya, at ginawang P81 bilyon.
Ang P20 bilyon na dagdag sa bersyon ng Kamara ay inalis din ng Senado dahil sa kaparehong dahilan.
“The NIA was given by the House an additional P40 billion budget, but there’s no explanation on how the P40 billion budget will be spent. So, the Senate removed that P40 billion,” ani Villar.
“It’s alright to increase their budget but they have to explain how will they spend it,” dagdag pa niya. RNT/JGC
