|
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Senate to publish changes in 2008 budget
MANILA -- Senators on Monday agreed to make public all the amendments in the 2008 national budget following controversies involving the double entry of a P200-million appropriation for a road project.
Senate finance committee chairman Juan Ponce Enrile's committee investigation into the double appropriation of the C-5 road project was an offshoot into accusations hurled against Senate President Manuel Villar by Senator Panfilo Lacson.
What's your take on the Mindanao crisis? Discuss views with other readers
Enrile said he is prepared to assume "full responsibility of all amendments made by me and the committee."
Senator Manuel Roxas II made the motion for the disclosure of the budgetary amendments.
Aside from Enrile, those who favored Roxas's recommendation were Senators Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, Francis Pangilinan, Alan Peter Cayetano, Lacson, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda, Juliana Pilar "Pia" Cayetano, and Ma. Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal.
According to Roxas, all amendments, insertions and earmarks undertaken by senators for 2008 will now be out in the open.
"I think we should do this even for the 2007 budget, going backwards, so we will know exactly who proposed each and every item in the budget," he added.
Roxas has filed Senate Bill (SB) 2623 or the Congressional Insertions Transparency Act of 2008 that will institutionalize the policy of transparency and accountability in crafting the yearly budget.
Under the proposed law, all budgetary amendments included in the enacted budget will be published in national newspapers within 20 days. It also allows for the filing of charges against legislators found to have placed double or multiple insertions that are self-serving or have a conflict in interest.
He earlier filed SB 109, the proposed Free Information Act, which would allow for the speedy disclosure of all information of public interest.
Before Roxas formally made his motion, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago called on her colleagues to make public the amendments they made in the 2008 budget.
Santiago said the senators have nothing to be scared of telling the public about their insertions in the budget if they believe they did no wrong.
Lacson, who asked for the investigation, was the first one to respond to Santiago's call.
He said he did not have any insertions in the budget.
The opposition senator accused Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. of benefiting from the controversial C-5 extension project.
The committee confirmed the existence of the double entry in the 2008 budget for the C-5 road project and whether the insertion is question Enrile said, "so far, there's none, as far as this chair is concerned."
Presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio lauded the Senate's decision to make public all the amendments of all the senators in the 2008 national budget.
"We expect such disclosure to serve the ends of transparency and accountability in the budget process," he said.
Claudio hoped that the controversy about the double entry would soon end and not hamper the legislative work of the Senate.
He reiterated that the controversy is an intra-chamber conflict that is internal to the Senate and which the Palace has never wanted to interfere or allow itself to be embroiled in politically.
"The Palace has had no intentions whatsoever of benefiting politically from this issue nor fortifying the stock of one political personality or group against another. However, we do wish that as the Senate proceeds to confront and resolve this matter, the urgent agenda of legislation for the social and economic upliftments of our country is not sidelined or impaired," he said. (JFF/JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (September 30, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
2 agencies 'collide' in anti-smuggling operation