Jinggoy lauds NGO role in crafting national budget, boosting
funds for environment

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada today lauded non-government organizations for their active participation in crafting the P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008, pressing for reduction in debt payments and effecting hikes in funds for protection of the environment.

Estrada specifically cited the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), a consortium of some 48 NGOs led by Social Watch Philippines chaired by former National Treasurer, Professor Leonor Magtolis Briones that involved in all phases of the whole budget process.

The ABI also includes among its members: La Liga Policy Institute, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement; Freedom from Debt Coalition; Education Network; Action for Economic Reforms; WomanHealth; Institute of Public Health Management; and Rice Watch and Action Network.

"The Alternative Budget Initiative group indeed made significant contributions in fine-tuning the budget, and even in ensuring increases in the allocation for environment protection and sustainability," Estrada said.

Briones, for her part, had said, "The process for the 2008 budget is indeed historical. For the first time, the Appropriations Committee conducted a hearing on the 'Orange Book' or the Alternative Budget submitted by civil society groups. We welcome the reduction of the debt interest payments and the realignment of these funds to expenditures related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) calling for improvements along the areas of education, health, agriculture, social welfare and development, energization and environmental protection."

Due largely to ABI's proposals, the 2008 budget includes more than P5 billion in additional allocations, part of which will be used for environment protection such as, among others, in: Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM); Soil Conservation and Watershed Management; Protected Area Management; Ecosystems Research and Development; Rehabilitation of Laguna Lake, Lake Sebu and Sampaloc Lake; and Environmental Education and Information.

"This is a great improvement in the process of crafting the national budget. People's participation in government's planning and decision-making ensures transparency, accountability and more people-oriented policies and programs in government," Estrada said.

Estrada supported Briones' statement that "the 2008 budget is a triumph for participatory budgeting, and the next step now is people's monitoring of its implementation."