Tuesday, June 26, 2007

ARMM proposes P10.6 billion budget

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao presented a budget proposal in the amount of P10.646 billion pesos. This budget proposal was presented by Atty. Oscar Sampulna, Executive Secretary of the ARMM, representing the Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) team who attended the budget hearing at the Waterfront Hotel in Davao City last week.

The P10.646 billion according to Sampulna was broken down into P5.496 billion for Personal Services (PS) which comprised 71% of the total budget, P1.466 billion for Maintenance and other Operating Expenses (MOOE), and P813.7 million for Capital Outlay. The Capital Outlay will be spent for locally funded projects on infrastructures.

The DBM team was headed by Undersecretary Eduardo Opeda and Director Luz Cantor and five other members from the DBM- Manila. Undersecretary Eduardo Opeda said the national government will be operating on a balance budget and not on deficit budget as in the case in the previous years.

The ARMM has a current budget of P8.877 billion pesos, which according to Atty. Sampulna the recommended budget for 2006 is lesser by about P1.2 billion pesos.In his last statements Atty. Sampulna appealed to the DBM officials to restore the said amount because it is needed in the construction of new projects and rehabilitation and upgrading of existing projects as roads, bridges, farm to market roads, ports and telecommunication facilities.

Meanwhile, DepEd Secretary Dr. Udtog Kawit assailed the DBM for telling them that his office has never received an allocation for school buildings, items for school teachers and asked for the creation of School Division in the new province of Shariff Kabunsuan. He also complained of lack of medicines for his School Nurses and medical officers. He also lamented the fact that the School Nurses did not receive their benefits.

Kawit said donors of School sites are now reclaiming the lands because of their increasing families. He added that there is need to title the school sites in the name of the schools so that donors will be able to retrieve it.

All other agencies in the ARMM presented their respective budget to the DBM team for scrutiny. DOH-ARMM secretary Tahir Sulaik presented his department who is given less attention by the national government. He complained in terms of personnel why administrative regions have better personnel and support than the ARMM.

Why we are not treated equally with the administrative regions, Sulaik asked DBM? He said the health state of the ARMM is poor. Most of the budget proposals presented were rebuked by the DBM for not having justifications and creations of new positions were rejected by telling that they should establish transitions.

Abdulsallam (Sammy) Guinomla, the acting Budget Chief of the ARMM stated that the technical budget hearing is held in Davao City because it will be less expense, unlike the previous years wherein the budget hearing was held in Manila, it will entail more expenses which according to him indorsed by Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan. (BPI-ARMM)

No comments: