THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the P1.541 trillion 2010 national budget without major adjustments during its first session Monday.

The approval was made around 6:30 p.m. One hundred seventy-five voted in favor of the budget, six members of the House opposed, while zero abstained.

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The 2010 General Appropriations Act, contained in House Bill 6767, was passed on the first day of the resumption of session - November 9, 2009.

House Bill 6767 states "An act appropriating funds for the operation of the government of the Republic of the Philippines from January one to December thirty-one, two thousand and ten, and for other purposes."

Speaker of the House Prospero Nograles said there were no major amendments. He added: "I cannot assure you in the bicam."

The third reading approval was done through roll call vote.

Representative Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis ruled against the budget, saying the budget allocation for education, agriculture, and culture is not enough due to the fact that a huge chunk of the budget have been allocated to paying debts.

“The reason for my vote is that bigger budget allocation should be given to these departments,” he said.

The same sentiment was echoed by Representative Eduardo Joson of Nueva Ecija.

“The budget as a tool for development has not been properly appropriated and put to good use for the past 50 years. The economic model, if we have any, on which the budget should be based has not worked,” Joson said.

Abakada-Guro Party List Representative voted in favor of the budget but suggested that a P73 billion re-alignment from the debt service be transferred to capital outlay.

In the 2010 General Appropriations Act, the capital outlay suffered a huge cut from P220.9 billion (15.5 percent) in 2009 to P168 billion (10.9 percent) in 2010. Debt servicing for 2010 meanwhile is about 22 percent or P342 billion.

Capital outlay has been decreased from 26 to 30 percent of the budget in the Marcos period to the current 10.9 percent level in the Arroyo administration. But debt servicing maintained the same levels.

Nograles also announced the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's approval of Joint Resolution Number 5 which authorizes the utilization of unprogrammed funds for relief, construction, and rehabilitation amounting to or more than 12 billion. (Angela Casauay/Sunnex)