2011 budget could clear Senate today

Business World

THE SENATE could approve the proposed P1.645-trillion national budget for 2011 today, paving the way for bicameral committee meetings and possible Congress approval before legislators go on a holiday break. 

Senator Sergio R Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate banks, financial institutions and currencies committee, said in a text message that the chamber was "fairly confident" the budget bill would be passed "tomorrow [Wednesday] night at the earliest." 

Minority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano told BusinessWorld that Senate budget hearings were on track. "I’m very optimistic. So far we’re on time," he said, adding that there would no longer be major realignments because the 2011 budget was "already tight". 

He warned, however, that bicameral hearings could be contentious due to cuts in the health and state schools’ budgets. 

Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to hold bicameral conference committee meetings from Dec. 6 to 13 to ensure that President Benigno S. C. Aquino III can approve a final budget law before the year ends, Senate Finance committee chairman Franklin M. Drilon told reporters last Friday. 

Congress is scheduled to start its holiday break on Dec. 18 

Mr. Cayetano said questions remained with respect to the P21.9-billion conditional cash transfer (CCT) program for 2011, which lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have criticized given its substantial increase from this year’s P12 billion. 

Mr. Drilon, in a sponsorship speech last week, said the CCT budget would stay intact in support of the president’s "unabashed bias for the poor". He also said there would be no major changes to House Bill 3101, the budget measure approved by the House of Representatives last Nov. 8. 

The Senate version consists of P933.479 billion in new appropriations -- the same as the House’s -- and an automatic debt appropriation of P357.09 billion. 

The 2011 budget compares to 2010’s P1.54-trillion outlay.