Huge unobligated Comelec budget to defray 2013 election related expenses, says Drilon

Following a series of brouhaha over its budget for 2013, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) today assured the Senate Finance Committee that there were no more disputes over its budget and that the P8.42 billion proposed allocation will meet its requirements for the conduct of the 2013 elections.

At today’s hearing of its proposed 2013 budget, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes assured Senator Franklin M. Drilon that the 2013 proposed budget of P8.42 billion is acceptable to them and enough to cover expenses for the synchronized national, local and Autonomous Regions of Muslim Mindanao elections.

“The Comelec has agreed that their budget be pegged at P8.42 B which was the budget the Department of Budget and Management has indicated in the National Expenditures Program. As to unfunded services and activities needed for the 2013 elections that can be done and purchased in 2012, the 2012 appropriation of the Comelec will be augmented by the DBM,” said Drilon.

“The Comelec chair has also given assurance that the previous misunderstandings between them and the budget department over their budget have already been settled and they can make do with their proposed 2013 budget,” he added.  

Per the Comelec presentation, the agency would need P11.01 billion to implement the synchronized elections which amounts P7.06 billion, the automated overseas absentee voting amounting P205.98 million, and the Sangguniang Kabataan and Barangay Registration and Elections amounting P3.75 billion, noted Drilon.

However, Drilon emphasized the Comelec still has huge unobligated balances which it can use to defray election related expenses to ensure a smooth automated elections next year.

Drilon said the agency has P11.57 billion in an unobligated budget which was earmarked for the payment for the purchase of Precinct Count Optical System machines amounting P2.8 billion, for the associated cost related to the purchase including acquisition of ballots and storage facilities amounting P6.13 billion, and the budget for Comelec Strategic Plan of P2.14 billion.

The balance of P1.15 billion is still for the agency to decide where to use, he noted.

“We will maintain the P8.4 billion and the DBM and Comelec will augment their budget to the extent necessary in order to cover activities which were not funded in 2013,” stressed Drilon.

The Senate panel deferred the approval of the agency’s proposed budget and scheduled another meeting on August 30, 2012.

Huge unobligated Comelec budget to defray 2013 election related expenses, says Drilon

MANILA, August 15, 2012-Following a series of brouhaha over its budget for 2013, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) today assured the Senate Finance Committee that there were no more disputes over its budget and that the P8.42 billion proposed allocation will meet its requirements for the conduct of the 2013 elections.

At today’s hearing of its proposed 2013 budget, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes assured Senator Franklin M. Drilon that the 2013 proposed budget of P8.42 billion is acceptable to them and enough to cover expenses for the synchronized national, local and Autonomous Regions of Muslim Mindanao elections.

“The Comelec has agreed that their budget be pegged at P8.42 B which was the budget the Department of Budget and Management has indicated in the National Expenditures Program. As to unfunded services and activities needed for the 2013 elections that can be done and purchased in 2012, the 2012 appropriation of the Comelec will be augmented by the DBM,” said Drilon.

“The Comelec chair has also given assurance that the previous misunderstandings between them and the budget department over their budget have already been settled and they can make do with their proposed 2013 budget,” he added.  

Per the Comelec presentation, the agency would need P11.01 billion to implement the synchronized elections which amounts P7.06 billion, the automated overseas absentee voting amounting P205.98 million, and the Sangguniang Kabataan and Barangay Registration and Elections amounting P3.75 billion, noted Drilon.

However, Drilon emphasized the Comelec still has huge unobligated balances which it can use to defray election related expenses to ensure a smooth automated elections next year.

Drilon said the agency has P11.57 billion in an unobligated budget which was earmarked for the payment for the purchase of Precinct Count Optical System machines amounting P2.8 billion, for the associated cost related to the purchase including acquisition of ballots and storage facilities amounting P6.13 billion, and the budget for Comelec Strategic Plan of P2.14 billion.

The balance of P1.15 billion is still for the agency to decide where to use, he noted.

“We will maintain the P8.4 billion and the DBM and Comelec will augment their budget to the extent necessary in order to cover activities which were not funded in 2013,” stressed Drilon.

The Senate panel deferred the approval of the agency’s proposed budget and scheduled another meeting on August 30, 2012.

E-VOTING SHOULD BE AN OPTION FOR OVERSEAS FILIPINOS

MANILA, August 15, 2012-During yesterday's budget hearing for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Senator Edgardo J. Angara proposed an online voting system for Filipinos working and living abroad to make the absentee voting process more convenient and effective.

According to figures from the DFA, nearly 800,000 have signed up for overseas absentee voting (OAV) to participate in the 2013 midterm elections, pushing them closer to their goal of one million by October of this year. 

However, Angara said that this is still a small percentage of the millions of Filipinos and their families who now live abroad.

"When we wrote the Overseas Voting Law around five years ago, there was an estimated three million Filipinos from around the world who were qualified. Three million potential votes can make a big difference on the national elections. Now there are even more potential voters, yet the turnout remains critically low due to practical constraints," he lamented.

Angara explained that in North America alone, there is an estimated 1.5 million potential voters. However, they face logistical difficulties arising from the required physical appearance for registration and voting. If the registration site is in another state, it will take these people away from their jobs and homes just to vote. 

The veteran legislator also noted that the program is moving slowly despite the sufficient fuding given over the past years.

"We should improve the overseas absentee voting program because right now the budget given does not match the output. Around P200 million was alloted for the assistance to overseas workers, yet we have less than a million registered voters and less than 200,000 who actually vote.
 
"Moreover, P120 million of that 2012 budget is still unspent. Perhaps we can channel the unspent 2012 allocation for the OFW assistance fund into establishing an e-voting system in all the countries which are technologicaly capable. We can conduct online registration and voting safely and securely for these Filipinos," proposed Angara, vice-chair of the Senate Finance Committee. 

Angara suggested an interagency task force headed by the Oversight Committee on Overseas Voting in the House of Representatives, together with the DFA and COMELEC, dedicated to working out the mechanics of online registration and voting.

"We should sieze this opportunity to use modern technology to empower Filipinos who work hard abroad. They should have a say in electing our leaders," he stressed.

JINGGOY WANTS POLICE ACADEMY PLACED UNDER PNP CONTROL

MANILA, August 15, 2012-Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada wants police training institutions placed at the helm of the primary peacekeeping and law enforcement organization, which will eventually dispatch and employ the uniformed personnel into action.

Sen. Estrada filed Senate Bill 3218 which seeks to amend the Republic Act 6975 or the Department of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990, and to transfer the administrative supervision and operational control of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), Philippine National Training Institute (PNTI) and the National Police College (NPC) from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“The current setup has proven to be ineffective and costly. It allows lapses in coordination of training programs and makes it difficult to develop a system of well-developed plan and budget for trainings internal to the PNP,” Sen. Estrada explains, adding:

“There is also a mismatch between the PNP training expectations and requirements and the actual services provided by the PPSC.”

Currently, the PPSC is considered the premier educational institution for the training, human resource development and continuing education of all personnel of the PNP, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Apart from PNPA, PNTI and NPC, PPSC also has supervision over the Fire Training Center and other special training centers as may be created by the DILG. PPSC is tasked to formulate and implement training programs for the personnel of the DILG.

“The ineffectiveness and inefficiency in the structure and system frequently result in unnecessary cost and waste of resources and efforts because the PNP would often conduct its own re-orientation and specialization training programs, thus duplicating those already undertaken by the PPSC,” Sen. Estrada points out.

Sen. Estrada, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, believes that the move will warrant that the police force is properly trained to perform their functions of maintaining peace and order, preventing crimes, ensuring public safety and generally protecting lives and properties.

On a related note, the Upper Chamber approved on Second Reading on Tuesday Senate Bill 3204 aimed at strengthening the PPSC system as an educational institution for training of fire and jail personnel, with the Committee on Education, Arts and Culture adopting the proposal of Sen. Estrada, effectively removing police training under PPSC.

Sen. Estrada was then recognized as co-author and co-sponsor of the measure.

Pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa inilunsad sa Aurora

BALER, Aurora, Agosto 15, 2012-Inilunsad ngayong araw ang pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa dito sa lalawigan bilang pagsunod sa itinakda ng batas na ang buwan ng Agosto ay para sa pagdiriwang nito.

 

“Mahalin natin ang ating wika bilang pagpapakita ng pagmamahal natin sa ating bansa at gawin nating pang-araw-araw ang paggamit nito sa ating buhay”, sabi ni Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo sa paglulunsad ng pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa sa Aurora. Ginawa ito sa panahon ng Seremonya ng Pagtataas ng Watawat ng Pilipinas sa Liwasang Pamahalaang Panlalawigan.

 

Kaugnay nito, bilang bahagi ng pakikiisa sa nasabing pagdiriwang, ang lahat ng mga kawani ng pamahalaan sa lalawigan ay nakibahagi at sumunod sa mga gawain ng Pamahalaang Panlalawigan. Ang mga nagsidalo sa nasabing pagdiriwang ay nagsuot ng mga katutubong kasuotan.

 

Alinsunod sa itinakda ng Proklamasyon Blg. 1041, s. 1977, na nagpapahayag ng taunang Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa tuwing Agosto 1-31 at sa Memorandum Sirkular Blg. 2012-106 ng Kagawaran ng Interyor at Lokal na Pamahalaan (DILG) na inaatasan ang lahat ng lokal na Pamahalaan na ipagdiwang ang Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa 2012 na may paksang : “Tatag ng Wikang Filipino, Lakas ng Pagka-Pilipino.” Ang mga layunin ng pagdiriwang sa taong kasalukuyan ay lalong mapalakas ang wikang Filipino bilang wikang pambansa at panlahatang wika para mapalakas at mapatatag ang Sambayanang Pilipino.

 

Dumalo sa nasabing paglulunsad ang Pangrehiyong Director ng DOLE na si G. Raymundo G. Agravante, Prof. Ronald Gonzales kinatawan ng UNESCO, G. Antonio M. Mutuc Jr. ng DOLE, LTC Kurt A. De Capia, ang Battalion Commander ng 48^th IB na binigyan ng plake ng pagkilala sa kanyang pangunguna sa mga ‘Youth Leadership Summit’, at ang mga kawani ng pamahalaang panlalawigan at nasyonal. (Jojo S. Libranda)