The Aquino administration is looking at raising the Department of Public Works and Highways’ budget by 40 percent next year, to accomplish its goal of rehabilitating and paving national roads by the end of 2014. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that the DPWH will have the second largest budget among the government departments, only after the Department of Education. “By the end of 2014, we would have been able to rehabilitate and pave all arterial or principal national roads of the government,” Abad said. The DPWH’s proposed budget for next year is P213.5 billion, 40.1 percent higher than this year’s program of P152.4 billion. Specifically, P137.7 billion of the DPWH’s 2014 budget is for the stronger implementation of the Transport Infrastructure Program. Abad said that the program covers the rehabilitation, construction, and maintenance of national roads, the development of flyovers/interchanges, and the construction and maintenance of national bridges. Another P33.4 billion is also being eyed to support the agency’s flood control projects nationwide, while P14.2 billion will be used to strengthen the country’s Tourism Development Program, through which the DPWH will construct or improve access roads to declared tourist hotspots. The DPWH has also been tasked to take responsibility for the creation of farm-to-market roads, which has a proposed allocation of around P12 billion, and falls under the Department of Agriculture’s proposed 2014 budget. “DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson has directed that there will be uniformed specifications for all farm-to-market roads, five meters wide and eight inches thick,” Abad said. “The President has also emphasized that all farm-to-market roads will be paved, so we’re not going to invest money in simply asphalt overlay or gravelling of these roads,” the budget chief said. According to the DPWH website, the national road network in the Philippines increased by 238.56 kilometers in 2012 with a total length of 31,597.68 kilometers. “The increase was brought about by the reclassification of local roads into national roads, inclusion of newly improved gap sections, completed flyover and Y-length, modified road configuration from single to dual carriageway,” the DPWH said. Abad earlier said that the government will spend more on infrastructure next year to meet the infrastructure needs of the country and as part of the commitment to achieve inclusive growth. Meanwhile, the Department of Education’s proposed budget for 2014 will increase by 14.9 percent to P336.9 billion. Abad said that P44.6 billion of the DepEd’s budget will be used for the provision and maintenance of basic educational facilities, which includes the construction, repair, or rehabilitation of classrooms, sanitation/water facilities, and the provision of school seats. The DepEd will also receive P8.3 billion for the provision of learning resources, which will cover textbooks and science and mathematics equipment, among others. “The budget we’re proposing for the next fiscal year is at once comprehensive and forward-looking, effectively addressing not only our most urgent development requirements but also our long-term growth objectives,” Abad said. The Department of Interior and Local Government will get the biggest share and will receive P135.4 billion, 11.2 percent higher than this year’s budget, while the Department of National Defense is proposed to get P123.1 billion or a 1.2 percent increase from the 2012 program. “The DILG and DND are always on the top of the list because of the huge personnel cost that they require. But next year, the DILG will be recruiting 20,000 more policemen, as part of this is dictated by the need to promote greater visibility in tourism zones in the country,” Abad said. The Department of Health, which gets the fifth biggest chunk, will enjoy the biggest increase from this year, as it is proposed to receive a budget of P87.1 billion, 45.5 percent higher than this year’s P59.9 billion program. Abad said that the DOH will see notable increases in its budget for PhilHealth premiums for indigent and poor families (P21.2 billion) and for its Health Facilities Enhancement Program (P13.3 billion). Meanwhile the Department of Agriculture is proposed to receive P80.7 billion, a 7.6 percent increase from this year’s budget of P75 billion. Aside from the budget for farm-to-market roads, the DA will also receive P21.1 billion for its Irrigation Network Services, and P10.5 billion will be used to help increase the productivity and income of farmers and fishermen in 20 of the country’s poorest provinces. The other departments which will get huge shares in the 2014 budget are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (P78.9 billion), Department of Transportation and Communication (P48.7 billion), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (P23.9 billion), and the Department of Agrarian Reform (P20.4 billion). The Aquino administration is proposing a budget of P2.268 trillion next year, 13.1 percent higher than this year’s program of P2.006 trillion.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 19:02:30 +0000
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