MANILA--Chairmen of the Senate finance committee and the House commiittee on appropriations have signed the bi-cameral conference committee report on the proposed budget for 2012, paving the way for the President's approval by mid-December, the earliest in recent history.
Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said the committee report will be circulated for signatures and, with enough congressmen, could be ratified by both houses by Tuesday afternoon.
Cavite Representative Joseph Emilio Abaya, chairman of the House appropriations committee, said that the bi-cameral conference committee spent a lot of time on a provision to give Constitutional offices money for unfilled positions.
The money, originally to be kept in the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF), has been returned to Constitutional offices on the principle of fiscal autonomy. They will get the money automatically and will only be required to report their spending to Congress every quarter.
The House had wanted to restrict usage of the money to fill vacancies but the Senate version allowed realignment of savings for the repair and construction of courthouses and buildings.
The bi-cameral conference committee version has scrapped these restrictions and Congress, the Judiciary, and the Constitutional commissions will be allowed to spend their savings for anything.
As of this posting, both the Senate and the House contingents are waiting for more lawmakers to sign the report. (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)