MIRIAM: DEFENSE OF 'PORK, SAVINGS' FLAWED

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Thursday slammed defenders of the 2015 budget for using flawed arguments to push for the retention of pork barrel-like funds and the redefinition of "savings."

Santiago said that while Budget Sec. Florencio "Butch" Abad insisted the proposed budget is free of pork barrel, he also confirmed that prior consultations have been conducted with legislators to identify priority projects.

"In other words, there may be no separate item called Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), but the funds have already been built into the proposed 2015 budget," Santiago said.

"These funds, regardless of the name, may be considered pork barrel, because they are national funds used for local projects selected by legislators, and they are granted in lump sums."

Santiago added that the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) being pushed by the executive might be a form of class legislation, as she asked whether all lawmakers were consulted or only a select few.

The constitutionality of so-called insertions resulting from prior consultations is also questionable, Santiago said, noting that they open opportunities for post-budget enactment interventions.

"If legislators may identify preferred constituents before a program can be implemented, then it becomes post-budget enactment intervention, the same kind the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional," the senator said.

Also bordering on unconstitutional, Santiago said, is the redefinition of "savings," which allows the government to declare savings "at any time."

House leaders have claimed that they have deleted this clause in their version of the proposed budget, but Santiago explained that it still appears in the second to the last line of Section 68 (b) of the Senate finance committee version.

"This means that if a project costing P10 million were awarded early in the year for only P9 million, there would be P1 million left. The remaining amount could be declared savings even before the end of the year," Santiago said.

"It should only be after the project has been completed rather than awarded that savings may be identified, since change orders or project modifications can take place during project execution," she added.

Santiago also criticized the DBM for being haphazard with the budget, saying that it is not sound budget practice to include projects which are not yet ready for implementation or to give lump sums to be followed by details later.

"Clearly, the DBM is the source of the redefinition of savings. The House merely said yes," the senator said, adding that the agency submitted to the House a bill to redefine savings in the manner it has been defined in the GAB.

In a privilege speech on Monday, 24 November, Santiago raised concern over savings and pork barrel, which she called "dangerous minefields leading to corruption" in the 2015 budget. She also urged her colleagues not to approve the House version of the budget unless the redefinition of "savings" is removed, and unless government agencies, especially the DBM, are compelled to break down lump-sum items.