DepEd Gets Biggest Budget For 2012

The Department of Education (DepEd) got the biggest proposed budget allocation for 2012 among government agencies.

Sen. Franklin Drilon, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement Sunday, October 16 that the committee has wrapped up deliberations on the individual budgets of agencies and is on-track in approving the proposed P1.816 trillion budget for 2012.

Of the proposed budget, P238.8 billion will go to DepEd, followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways with P125.5 billion and the Department of National Defense with P107.9 billion.

Plenary debates on the 2012 budget is scheduled on November 22, which may lead to the simultaneous approval on second and third readings in the Senate, said Drilon.
Although education accounts for a major bulk of the national budget for year 2012, several groups have repeatedly staged protests asking Congress to increase the budget of state universities and colleges (SUC).

During the Senate finance committee hearing on the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) proposed budget, CHED said it is already negotiating with the Department of Budget and Management to increase the P26 billion budget for the 110 SUCs in the country.

Higher Budget

Sen. Drilon said the proposed outlay for 2012 is 10.4 percent higher than the 2011’s outlay of P1.645 trillion. Next year’s budget represents 16.5 percent of gross domestic product, or the value of goods and services produced by an economy in a given period.

"We will diligently work for the passage of the budget so that by January 1, we will have an approved national budget for 2012," Senator Drilon said.

He also assured the passage of the government’s spending plan before lawmakers go on a holiday break in December.

Based on the departmental allocations, the Department of Interior and Local Government will get P49.4 billion; Department of Agriculture, P54 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development, P49.4 billion; Department of Health, P44.4 billion; Department of Transportation and Communications, P34.6 billion; Department of Agrarian Reform, P18.3 billion; and the Judiciary, P15.7 billion. /MP