MANILA: Despite a show of force on Monday by opponents of the congressional assistance, President Aquino made it clear he’s keeping his own as a prerogative — but with the interest of the people in mind. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the P2.268trn ($52bn) budget for next year – including more than P25bn ($568m) allocation for assistance – has the President’s imprimatur and is now being discussed in Congress.
“For the record, the budget is the President’s program and this is his budget, not Secretary (Florencio) Butch’s (Abad) or Secretary Mar’s (Manuel Roxas II),” the message read. The message was initially attributed to Roxas, a stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party. Curiously, Palace reporters were later told to credit the message to Lacierda.
In the text message, Lacierda also took a jab at the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) for calling for the scrapping of the presidential assistance, also called President’s Social Fund (PSF). The congressional assistance is officially called the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Senators are each entitled to P200m ($4.55m) PDAF annually, while House members get P70m ($1.6m). The president and the vice president have their respective assistance allocations.
The Philippine star
