DRILON SUPPORTS VETO OF ITEMS IN 2011 BUDGET

Senator Franklin Drilon expressed support on the items vetoed by President Benigno C. Aquino III in the 2011 national budget.

"I support the veto. This is a House proposal which violates the Constitution as it limits the President's power to realign items in the budget," Drilon said of the deleted special provision on conditional cash transfer which requires that the unused portion of the P21 billion allocation for the direct cash grant for the poor should be realigned to education, health etc.

President Aquino also vetoed the debt capt limit of 55% of gross domestic product, with Drilon saying that it "limits the government's ability to borrow for projects or refinance our debt for lower interest." A similar provision was also vetoed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

A provision has also been scrapped on lump sum allocation which provides that before any project is executed, the representatives of the districts concerned should be consulted. Drilon said that the provision will delay implementation of priority projects as outlined in the budget.