The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) and the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) will not get a slice of the P1.645-trillion national budget for 2011, Budget secretary Butch Abad said Tuesday.
"We have found these offices to be redundant and recommended to the President their abolition and their functions absorbed by the appropriate agencies," Abad told GMANews.TV over the phone.
"They are part of a list of agencies recommended to the President for abolition, deactivation, or transfer to appropriate agency. For this reason, no appropriation was given to them," he added.
The PAGC, created by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in April 2001, is mandated to probe complaints against presidential appointees. Its functions supposedly overlap with those of the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 26, meanwhile, has ordered the abolition of PASG after it ruled that the decree that created it, Executive Order No. 624, is "illegal and unconstitutional."
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) utilized a zero-based budgeting process in determining President Benigno Aquino III's proposed budget for 2011. Each item was justified according to the new administration’s priorities and the receiving-agency’s ability to achieve efficiency and effectiveness toward its objective.
The DBM transmitted the proposed budget to the House of Representatives last August 24. It contained significant increases in the allocations for social services like education and health, and huge cuts in the allocations for some government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning head Ricky Carandang said at a news briefing Tuesday that Abad has sent out word to various departments "not to lobby for additional funds" so the government's target to have the 2011 budget signed by January next year will be met.
Abad confirmed this, adding that the DBM has also sent a draft memo for signing by the President.
He said he is hoping that Congress will be able to pass the proposed budget before it goes on recess on December for the Christmas season so Aquino can sign it within the first two weeks of January 2011.
Arroyo signed the 2009 budget in mid-March, and the 2010 budget in mid-February. - KBK
