The House minority bloc on Wednesday alerted their colleagues to the quiet removal of a provision in the proposed 2011 national budget that would have secured possible savings from the P21-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.
Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said that without the said provision, CCT savings may instead become part of President Benigno Aquino III's "pork barrel".
The House-approved budget has a special provision stating that savings from the CCT program’s implementation should be used only for education and health. This provision was, however, removed when the bicameral conference committee met to reconcile the House and Senate versions.
"Isn’t that additional pork for the President? It’s his prerogative where to realign it [CCT savings]," Magsaysay said.
Magsaysay and Suarez questioned the failure of House appropriations committee chairman Joseph Emilio Abaya to fight for the provision’s retention.
"The House yielded to the position of the Senate. Apparently, the chairman of the Upper House won over the chairman of the Lower House," Magsaysay said.
Suarez lamented that because of the inaction of the House appropriations committee chairman, "nobody could blame us [minority bloc] because we were never informed. We only found out [about the removal] with the rest of you."
The Zambales congresswoman noted that the P83-million budget for the Truth Commission, which the Supreme Court nullified, could also suffer the same fate.
"Where will the budget go? He [Aquino] can spend it anywhere he wants. That is again additional pork. Baka mamatay na yun sa high blood [He might die of high blood pressure]," Magsaysay said, in a play of words on fat-rich diets and hypertension.—Amita O. Legaspi/JV
