Press Release
October 13, 2008

ROXAS TO GMA, PALACE: "GET REAL, MAKE HARD DECISIONS"
INSISTS 2009 BUDGET BASED ON UNREALISTIC ASSUMPTIONS

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said today the government should stop defending and pushing a 2009 national budget based on unrealistic assumptions and discordant with real needs of real people amid growing concern over the global financial crisis.

Roxas said he has asked Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Juan Ponce Enrile to recall Malacanang's Development Budget and Coordination Committee (DBCC) to the Senate to be questioned over macroeconomic assumptions that became the basis for the 2009 General Appropriations Act.

"Isang katangahan na nakikita na natin ang bagyo ay hindi pa natin paghahandaan. Sinabi na nga na mayroong darating na problema ay hindi pa natin gagawan ng paraan. Kailangan ay gawin ang desisyon kahit na mahirap (It's foolishness not to act when we see that a storm is coming. We already said we will son encounter problems, yet the Palace still says things are all right and won't do a thing. It's time to make hard decisions)," said Roxas, chair of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce.

The Ilonggo senator had warned that the global financial crisis will impact negatively on incomes and threaten job security of OFWs, reduce demand for Philippine exports and even affect domestic spending.

"Dapat baguhin na ang pamamaraan ng gobyerno sa paggawa ng budget. Trilyon na ang budget natin, wala namang tunay na pagbabago dahil wala itong tunay na pokus sa talagang pangangailangan ng taumbayan (The government should revamp the way it comes up with the budget. It's already in the trillions, but we don't see real change because there's no sincere effort to focus it on the needs of the people)," he said..

Roxas pointed out that while global financial institutions have projected weaker economic growth for next year--as low as 3.8% GDP growth--the 2009 general appropriations bill that recently passed second reading in the House retains a high GDP growth projection of 6.1% to 7.1%.

He also pointed out that the government's inflation target for next year would be 6-7%, yet we are now experiencing double-digit inflation; that the exchange rate assumption is P42-P45 per dollar while it is now in the P47 range; and that Dubai crude will be $150 per barrel yet it has now gone down to $77 per barrel.

"Nakikita na nating hihina ang ekonomiya, pero parang tinatabangan pa ang gobyerno sa panawagan natin para agad na repasuhin ang budget para sa susunod na taon. Dapat makita nilang kulang ang ginagawa nila para protektahan ang taumbayan na natatakot mawalan ng kabuhayan dulot ng parating na krisis (We see the economy weakening, but the government's lukewarm to our call for the budget's revamp. It should realize that its actions are not enough to protect the people and their jobs)," he said.

"Ang layo na ng mga numero, pero hindi pa rin sinisimulan ang pagrepaso sa budget. Ibig sabihin nito, may P1.4 trilyon tayong budget na napakalaki nga pero hindi naman nakaayon sa realidad, na hindi naman natin kakayaning pondohan (The numbers are very different, but the government has yet to start recasting the budget. This means we may have a large P1.4-trillion budget that is not attuned to reality, that we may not be able to fund anyway)," he said.

Roxas said he hopes Malacanang can explain in the budget hearings of the Senate how it intends to correct the situation so that the 2009 GAA could be more responsive to real needs by the time the impact of the global financial crisis reaches the Philippines.

He said he intends to grill budget officials to explain why they refuse to recast the proposed 2009 budget considering that economic and financial assumptions that became the basis for its design are now off the mark.

'Pag hindi natin binago ang 2009 budget, siguradong madadagdagan ang paghihirap ng mga Pilipino sa susunod na taon (If we don't change the 2009 budget, Filipinos will surely face more hardship next year)," Roxas said.

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