MANILA, 24 April 2003 - President Gloria Arroyo yesterday signed into law this year's 804-billion-peso national budget, with the Department of Education getting the biggest share of 106.5 billion pesos.
Getting the next biggest chunk was the Department of Public Works and Highways with 53.2 billion pesos, followed by the Interior and Local Government with 44.2 billion pesos, National Defense with 42.6 billion pesos and Agriculture with 16.5 billion pesos.
The Department of Health, at the frontline in the fight against the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), got a 10.4-billion-peso share.
Arroyo earlier set aside a one-billion-peso contingency fund to control and manage possible SARS outbreaks in the country.
Several provisions in the General Appropriations Act for 2003 were vetoed by the president because they were either inconsistent with existing laws or had lacked enabling laws to support their implementation. Vetoed were:
¥ a special provision giving authority to the chairman of the Commission on Elections to enter into domestic or foreign loan agreements for its modernization. Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin said only the president and the secretary of finance are authorized to enter into loan agreements - whether local or foreign - in behalf of the Philippine government.
¥ a provision disallowing the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway/Access Roads to use appropriated funds because this would have adverse impact on the completion of the NAIA projects, which is a high priority project of the government.
¥ special provisions authorizing the use of incomes and fees by some agencies, noting that these funds already constitute an integral part of the revenue and financing source of the budget.
¥ a special provision granting a 15 percent initial salary upgrade for the uniformed personnel of the National Mapping Information Authority (NAMRIA), Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Philippine Coast Guard. Boncodin said this salary upgrade would be implemented upon passage of the enabling laws.
¥ a provision on the salary upgrade of Public Schools District Supervisors and Education Supervisors because the law on the upgrade indicated "no legislative intent" to grant the salary upgrade.
Arroyo had instead ordered the Education department and the DBM to study the implementation of the salary upgrade based on the government's classification system, hierarchy and funding.
Malacanang noted yesterday that this year's budget was 2.9 percent bigger than last year's 780.8-billion-peso budget.
It said the 2003 budget commits the government to limit its deficit to 202 billion pesos, or about 4.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Finance Secretary Isidro Camacho said on Tuesday the budget deficit for the three months of this year to March had already reached 58.9 billion pesos. (Inputs from Agencies)
