by Nicasio Angelo Agustin
Probably, the country has started the New Year right. Just before 2010 ended, the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2011 amounting to P1.645 trillion was signed by the President. The GAA will finance the bureaucracy’s development programs and projects.
For the past 11 years, this scenario did not happen. Fiscal years began sans clear allocation and programming of government funds. The previous year’s budget was simply reenacted in the current year until the GAA for that year was passed, which usually happens towards the middle of that same fiscal year.
The “early” signing of the 2011 GAA is a clear manifestation of the unity of minds of the executive and legislative branches. For those who are not aware, the budgeting process of the national government is a long, tedious and meticulous exercise. In the not-so-distant past, there were loopholes in the process but efforts were also made to address them.
The process starts with the issuance of a budget call, usually anytime during the second quarter. The budget call sets the parameters and fundamental principles to be followed by all entities of the national government, including all their sub-national offices. Such budgeting guidelines are usually based on the national development plan or the overall development vision or agenda of the administration. This implies that even before the issuance of a budget call, the executive branch must have already conducted discussions and has done initial researches to set such parameters which include, among others, the budget ceilings for the different departments and instrumentalities of the government.
By the middle of the third quarter, the executive branch should be ready with a consolidated national budget proposal for submission to the legislature. Prior to this, the executive branch conducts a series of consultations and discussions at both national and regional levels which involve sectoral and regional stakeholders. In some regions, the Congresspersons – are invited to provide inputs in terms of what they think are the priority development thrusts in their areas, in particular, and the whole region, in general.
For the 2011 national budget, the P-Noy administration submitted the national budget proposal to both Houses of Congress in mid-August 2010.
The rest of the third quarter up to the middle of December were devoted to Congress and Senate Budget Hearings where agencies took turns in presenting: (a) their respective agency programs and projects for the next year; (b) their sectors’ development targets which, in a sense, present the outcomes they hope to achieve given their budget proposal; and (c) the geographic and program allocation or distribution of their proposed budget.
The Congress and Senate budget hearings are considered the most tricky, thorny and difficult stage in the whole process – at least from the executive branch’s perspective. Agencies and national government departments again take turns in presenting and defending their budget proposals as contained in the consolidated budget proposal of the executive branch. Hearings and sessions are held everyday and would last up to past midnight, not to mention off-site sessions where officials from the executive branch woo their favorite Congresspersons and Senators to “spare” their agency budget proposals from cuts and to re-introduce for inclusion some of their pet programs and projects which may have not been favorably considered by the executive branch during the preparation of the national budget proposal. At this stage, negotiations are made, lobbying and leveraging are done, and budget insertions for critical projects are introduced by members of Congress.
By the middle of December, both Houses of Congress must have consolidated their position or stance on the budget proposal. When this has been achieved, the draft GAA is then submitted to the President for his signature and approval.
What amazed me most is that current administration was that it was able to submit the national budget proposal in mid-August of 2010 so soon after being installed into office on July 1. Obviously, the national government did its best to come up with the budget proposal on time. Another thing, both Houses pushed the approval of the budget before 2011 set in.
What remains to be done now (and the administration should do it well) is the most challenging task of budget implementation. It is at this stage when graft/corruption begins to rear its ugly head.
Feel free to send your comments to nic_agustin@yahoo.com.
