President Benigno Aquino III is set to sign the P2.6-trillion national budget before the end of the year to ensure there will be a new spending plan in place on the first day of 2015, Malacañang said Sunday.
“Katulad ng mga naganap noong nakaraang taon ay nilalagdaan po ito bago matapos ang Disyembre para maging epektibo sa unang araw ng 2015. ‘Yan po ang isa pang mahalagang gagampanan ng ating Pangulo sa mga darating na araw,” Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said in an interview over dzRB radio.
The 2015 national expenditure program, which Congress ratified last week, includes a new definition of savings which lawmakers say complies with the Supreme Court decision on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
Coloma again defended the budget from allegations it contains billion of hidden pork barrel funds for the executive, saying Congress will not legislate a measure that is unconstitutional.
“Wala pong batayan ‘yung sinasabi nilang ‘yan, maliban na lang po siguro sa pagkakaroon nila ng ibang pananaw hinggil sa istruktura at nilalaman ng pambansang budget,” he said of the “hidden pork” claims.
“Ang batas po ay kinakailangang tumalima sa mga prinsipyo ng Konstitusyon at hindi naman po makatwiran na sabihin na mismong mga mambabatas ang magsasabatas ng labag sa Konstitusyon at ito naman ay ang prinsipyong gumabay sa paghubog at pagbuo ng ating pambansang budget,” Coloma added.
Congress changed the definition of savings to make it harder for the executive to declare them during the validity of the appropriation following the Supreme Court’s declaration of portions of the DAP as unconstitutional.
Under the 2015 General Appropriations Bill, programmed appropriations which have not been released or allotments not obligated due to fault of the agency concerned will not be considered savings. A final discontinuance or abandonment is also one of the conditions an agency must comply with before declaring savings.
