Belmonte

QUEZON CITY – Malacanang has officially submitted to Congress the proposed P1.645 trillion national budget for 2011, which is P104 billion more or 6.8 percent higher than this year’s budget.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad handed the proposed 2011 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing and details of the spending plan to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

Of the proposed budget, Abad said P950.7 billion would go to the national government agencies, P23.3 billion to the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs), P298.9 billion to the local government units, and P372.1 billion to creditors.
The government will pay P357.1 billion in interest payments and P15 billion for net lending, he said.

Abad said new appropriations will make up P971 billion — P806.7 billion of which will go to the departments and P164.2 billion to special purpose funds. Automatic appropriations amounted to P674 billion.

Some P207.3 billion was allocated for education, P110.6 billion for public works, P104.7 billion for defense, P88.2 billion for interior and local government, P37.7 billion for agriculture, P34.3 billion for social welfare, P33.3 billion for health, P32.2 billion for transportation and communications, P16.7 billion for agrarian reform, and P14.3 billion for the judiciary.

Abad said the P8-billion subsidy for rice procurement was removed and the P4-billion equity for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would be deferred.
The support for GOCCs dipped to P23.3 billion in the proposed 2011 budget from P59.1 billion in 2010.

Abad said no new positions would be created, except teachers and uniformed and medical personnel.

He said additional expenses for utilities, communications and supplies would be limited and a moratorium in the construction of new office buildings and acquisition of motor vehicles would be imposed.

The DBM chief said sectoral basis, social services will get the allocation of P517.9 billion, followed by debt service with P372.1 billion, economic sector with P365.5 billion, general public service with P287.9 billion, and defense with P101.6 billion.