Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Villar proposes multi-year budget for agri projects (11:40 a.m.)
MANILA -- Senate President Manny Villar proposed a multi-year budget approach for agriculture projects, particularly those that directly affect food security.
"To have predictability on sources of funds, multiyear budgeting should be applied on projects, irrigation systems, for example, which take years to finish," Villar said.
"The handicap of single-year funding for project is that it is prone to disruption endangering the country's food security," he said.
But because the Constitution calls for annual appropriations and forbids the legislation of multiyear national budgets, the compromise solution, Villar said, "is for the executive to convey to Congress the three-year financing requirements of agricultural projects."
"We must have a longer planning horizon because to work around 365-day cycles is too limiting and does not give us much elbow room," the Senate President said.
He urged the Executive to submit to Congress a medium term expenditure framework "for the agriculture sector so we will know in advance what projects must be funded and should be guaranteed."
"This way, Congress will still come up with yearly budgets, but these are now yearly authorizations for projects and programs which are plotted out in advance," he said.
"The idea is for the whole government to have strategic viewpoint instead of approaching a problem on yearly installments," he said. (Sunnex) |
