Economic Growth Safe Despite Reenacted Budget

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno expressed confidence that the economy can manage a robust growth in 2019, even as he admitted that it is likely to be held back slightly in the first half should the government resort to a reenacted budget at the start of the year.

Noting reports that Congress might approve the proposed PHP3.757-trillion by February 2019, Diokno, in a briefing Tuesday, said a delay in the supplementation will likely result in a five-month gap in the implementation of proposed projects for next year, factoring-in the impact of an election ban.

He clarified that major projects will not be affected because they have multi-year obligation authorities. He, however, said projects at the district, provincial, town and village levels would be stalled.

Diokno explained that if Congress approves the budget by February, it will not automatically be in place because once a copy has been transmitted to the Office of the President (OP) it has to be studied, line by line, for about a week or two before the President signs it.

“We will go through it with a fine-toothed comb,” he said, citing that after the signing, there is a 15-day period before the measure takes into effect.

Although this issue will impact on the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first and second quarters of next year Diokno said the full-year output is safe.

“There will be slowdown in the first and second quarters, but it can pick up in the third and fourth,” he said, citing that big projects have make-up plans.

He said lawmakers ought to work 24/7 or adjust their daily schedules to get the budget passed.

He also expressed hope that there would be no major typhoon in the second half of next year so that infrastructure projects could be implemented as fast as possible.

If the government utilizes a re-enacted budget next year, it will be the first for the Duterte administration.

Diokno stressed that they do not want a re-enacted budget because it will not include new projects proposed for a certain year.

This is the reason why the current government submits its proposed national budget for the following year on the day of the State of the Nation Address (SONA), without tapping the 30-day period after SONA set under the law, he said.

“The President has done his job. The ball is in Congress’ court. It is the collective responsibility of legislators to approve the general appropriations bill before they go on a holiday break,” he said in a statement.

Diokno, meanwhile, said that government workers will still get their salaries sans the fourth tranche of salary increase, and retired personnel will continue to receive their pensions even with a re-enacted budget.

“Salary adjustments for civilian and military personnel programmed for 2019 will have to wait,” he said.

He added that the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) will remain at the 2018 level until the proposed 2019 budget is approved. (PNA)