ROXAS: STOP REPEAT OF 2004 DIVERSION OF PUBLIC FUNDS
SENATE OKAY OF 2010 GAA LESSENS CHANCES OF BUDGET DIVERSION

Sen. Mar Roxas today lauded his colleagues in the Senate for approving on third reading the 2010 General Appropriations Act, two days before Congress' scheduled Christmas break as it lessens the possibility of President Arroyo treating the national budget as her personal pork barrel in a crucial election year.

The President would enjoy total control of the proposed P1.5-trillion national budget for 2010 if Congress would hand her a re-enacted 2009 General Appropriations Act, Roxas said.

"Mahalagang matapos na ang talakayan ukol sa badyet sa susunod na taon upang masiguro na maisasabatas ito bago matapos ang taong ito. Hindi tayo maaaring magkaroon ng reenacted budget dahil siguradong aabusuhin lamang ng administrasyong ito ang pera ng bayan para sa personal nilang mga interes," Roxas said.

He appealed to members of the bicameral conference committee to fast-track discussions on the 2010 national budget to ensure that the final version is ratified by Congress before the December 18 break.

Pointing out that 2010 is an election year, the Visayan senator said it was important for the public to remain vigilant in ensuring that public funds are not diverted for electoral purposes, similar to what happened during the 2004 presidential elections when at least P728 million in agriculture funds and billions of pesos more for other agencies were used for the reelection bid of President Arroyo.

"Maging mapagmatyag tayong lahat. Huwag tayong maging kampante. Kailangan pa rin nating bantayan ang buong prosesos upang masiguro na hindi ito masisingitan ng mga 'ghost' appropriations na maaaring gamitin para sa eleksyon," Roxas said.