House committee clears P2.7-B OP budget for 2013
The House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday
approved President Benigno S. Aquino III’s P2.7 billion spending plan for the
Office of the President (OP) for fiscal year 2013.
The OP’s proposed budget was presented by
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. to the House Committee on
Appropriations and was quickly cleared by committee members in the spirit of
inter-parliamentary courtesy and in deference to a co-equal branch of
government.
Ochoa thanked members of the House
Appropriations Committee for “extending this courtesy and immediately approving
the OP budget.”
The 2013 OP budget is 4.26 percent higher than
this year’s appropriation of P2.7 billion, with the bulk of the increase going
to the funding requirements for salary adjustments under the fourth tranche of
the Salary Standardization Law (SSL), as well as major repairs, rehabilitation
and improvement of various buildings and facilities inside the Malacañang
Complex.
The P111-million increase in the OP’s proposed
spending package for the next fiscal year would go to Personal Services (PS),
up P39 million to P552.9 million; and Capital Outlays (CO), from P150.6 million
to P300.4 million.
The OP has slashed the allocation Maintenance
and Other Operating Expenses (MOE) by P77million to P1.88 billion, from the
current fiscal year’s P1.96 billion.
Appropriation for Capital Outlays under the OP’s
proposed budget measure has been adjusted upward to fund the improvements of
various buildings and facilities inside Malacanang, some of which are over a
hundred years old. Presidential residences outside the Malacanang Complex will
also undergo repairs namely, the Mansion House in Baguio City; Malacanang Park
in Nagtahan, Manila; and the Malacañang sa Sugbu in Cebu City.
The Executive Secretary said the OP budget is
“guided by the principles of fiscal discipline, principles the OP applies by
defining specific objectives and priorities in terms of projects and
activities, efficiency by observing the best value for money in the allocation
and use of resources, and transparency and accountability by assigning delivery
units as cost centers.”
President Aquino declares September 12 as
special non-working day in Lipa City for the holding of National Marian
Pilgrimage and Sanctification of the Clergy
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
September 12 which falls on a Wednesday as a special (non-working) day in Lipa
City for the holding of the National Pilgrimage and the Sanctification of the
Clergy.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 463 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on August 25, upon the request of the Office of the Mayor in order for the people
of City of Lipa to participate in the event
The President noted that the city of Lipa will
host thousands of devotees for the National Marian Pilgrimage, a day of prayer
for Peace and the Sanctification of the Clergy.
On September 12, 2004, Archbishop Ramon
Arguelles of Lipa approved the holding of the 1st National Marian Pilgrimage to
Lipa as the National Day of Prayer and Reparation for World Peace and
Sanctification of the Clergy. The move of Archbishop Arguelles was supported by
the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. (js/1:17pm)
Malacanang says DPWH has completed 50 percent
repair of national, city and municipal roads in Metro Manila
The Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH) has completed the repair of over 50 percent of the reported national,
city and municipal roads in Metro Manila following the launching of the Aquino
administration's social media campaign #Lubak2normal.
The social media campaign was launched last
August 10, 2012 after the Metro Manila and nearby provinces were hit by floods
spawned by heavy rains and floods of Habagat 2012 last month. The floods
damaged several roads.
The Presidential Communications Development and
Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) has partnered with the DPWH to engage the
public, via social networking sites, in a campaign to report the damage
sustained by national roads during the Southwest Monsoon.
"As of August 30, 2012, the #Lubak2normal
social media campaign of the PCDSPO and the DPWH has received a total of 3,459
tweets," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said during the
regular press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday.
"Since then, there have been a total of 241
reports on specific national road locations within Metro Manila that were in
need of repair," Valte said.
Of these 241 national roads, Valte said 125 or
51.87 percent have already been fixed by the DPWH as of Thursday last week.
"Though the campaign covered only national
roads in Metro Manila damaged as a result of the monsoon rains in early August,
infrastructure under the jurisdiction of local governments within the National
Capital Region were also affected," she said.
"#Lubak2normal received reports on city and
municipal roads in need of fixing. As of the latest report from DPWH, 50
percent of these roads have already been repaired," she said.
Valte also noted that #Lubak2normal received
reports on damaged roads under the jurisdiction of provincial governments, of
which 37 percent have already been addressed according to the DPWH.
"The #Lubak2normal campaign has resulted in
a convergence between citizen’s engagement through reports and the assessment
of road repair initiatives by government," she said.
"More than just a campaign, it has evolved
into a partnership among agencies. More importantly, it has demonstrated a
shared commitment between the government and the public to ensure better roads
and to strengthen the mechanisms of public accountability," she said. (js)
Aquino, NEDA board approve construction of new
airports
President Benigno S. Aquino III and the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board approved on Tuesday the construction
of the Bicol International Airport project and the New Bohol (Panglao) Airport
Development project.
The P4.7 billion Bicol International project in
Daraga, Albay will replace the existing Legazpi Airport, Secretary Ramon
Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning
Office said in a media briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday.
The initial plan was to expand the Legazpi
Airport but Carandang said there’s a mountain blocking airplanes during
approach so planners considered finding a new location.
The Department of Transportation and
Communication made a study and found the it is cheaper to move to Daraga than
to level the mountain that could cost the government around P3 billion.
“The other thing is because the airport facility
is good property it can be sold and it can defray some of the cost of the
transfer,” he noted.
The P8-billion New Bohol (Panglao) Airport
Development Project, on the other hand, once constructed is expected to spur
development as more businesses grow and more tourists come to the Visayas
region.
Aside from building new airports, the NEDA board
also approved the Light Rail Transit Line 2 East Extension project and the
purchase of 52 new cars for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).
Under the P9.7 billion LRT Line 2 East Extension
project, a 4.19-kilometer extension will be built from the existing Santolan
Station to the Masinag Junction.
Two additional stations will be constructed at
Emerald Drive in Cainta, and in the Masinag Junction in Antipolo City. (as)
NEDA board approves major infrastructure
projects
The National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) board, chaired by President Benigno S. Aquino III, approved on Tuesday
several infrastructure projects that will address flooding, open the country’s
remote areas as well as address its energy needs.
Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential
Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said the projects
approved include the Master Plan for the Flood Management System, Mindanao road
improvement project, bridge projects, and the strengthening of Angat Dam and
the dike project of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).
The flood management master plan was previously
mentioned when the President toured Pasig River and this also came out during
the recent devastation of the habagat when the President went around Luzon to
meet the flood victims, Carandang said.
“The master plan has been approved by the NEDA
Board with an initial allocation of P5 billion for the initial projects. The
master plan is going to take a number of years to complete. It will be
completed in 2035. So it’s a multi-year, multi-agency program headed by DPWH
and we have approved the first five billion pesos to get this project started.
So that will happen immediately,” he said in a press briefing in Malacanang on
Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the bridge projects, proposed by the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), were intended to rehabilitate
bridges in calamity-stricken areas. The government also gave the nod to
accelerate the timetable to complete those projects, Carandang continued.
The NEDA board has also approved a change in the
scope and the increase in cost and components for the Mindanao road improvement
project, he noted.
“There are a number of roads in Mindanao,
national roads, which need to be improved in different provinces particularly
in ARMM. Because of changes there have been some changes in scope and cost,”
Carandang said.
Aside from the Angat Dam and the dike project by
the MWSS, the NEDA board also approved the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities
Management Corporation’s request for financing of the Agus hydroelectric power
plant, the Palace official said.
Only two projects were deferred during Tuesday’s
board meeting, Carandang continued. These include the Cavite-Laguna expressway
project and the acquisition of patrol boats for the Philippine Coast Guard.
The board and the President wanted to clarify
some technical issues before approving the said projects, he noted.
The project for the Coast guard involves the
acquisition of 10-40 meter patrol vessels to be deployed to the West Philippine
Sea, Carandang added. (as)
