By ALI G. MACABALANG
The committee on finance and appropriations of the House of Representatives approved last Thursday the proposed R8.34-billion budget of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for 2006.
ARMM officials hoped that the Senate would take prompt action on the money measure.
The members of the House committee chaired by Congressman Rolando Andaya unanimously approved the proposed ARMM budget during a hearing held last Thursday at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.
The committee members present were Reps. Mujib Hataman (Anak Mindanao), Joel Birador (Bayan Muna), Akmad Tomawis (Alif), Benasing Macarambong (2nd district, Lanao del Sur), Harlin Abayon (Northern Samar), Simeon Datumanong (2nd district, Maguindanao), Mario Aguja (Akbayan), and Faysah Dumarpa (1st district, Lanao del Sur).
ARMM Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, who led the ARMM officials in defending the proposed budget, thanked the members of the committee, saying that their prompt approval of the ARMM appropriation proposal reflected their deep concern for the plight of the 15-year-old autonomous region.
The R8.34-billion budget is 17 percent more thant the current budget of R7.09billion, ARMM finance officials said.
Sixty percent of the budgetted amount or some R5 billion is allotted for personnel salaries; 22 percent or R1.844 billion, for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), and 18 percent or R1. 49 billion for capital outlay.
From the capital outlay, R839 Million is allocated as counterpart fund of the national government for foreign-assisted projects, particularly the ARMM Social Fund which is provided by a loan from the World Bank and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Another R650 Million is allocated for locally funded projects which would be programmed by the Regional Economic and Development Planning Board (REDPB).
A big portion of the budget, some R3.8 billion or almost 46 percent goes to education. ARMM has the lowest literacy rate in the country at 73.0 percent.
The Department of Health gets R441 million, and the Department of Agriculture, R223 M.
The immediate approval of the proposed ARMM proposed was apparently prompted by the satisfaction of the committee members of the administrative and financial reforms that the Ampatuan administration is now instituting specially with respect to the problem of the Department of Education (ARMM), the autonomous regional media bureau said.
Most of the committee members focused their questions on the problems of the DepEd, such as the unremitted premiums of the teachers to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and to the Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA). These have accumulated to more than R800 million in the past ARMM administrations, the media bueau said.
They lauded Ampatuan for his standing directive to his Cabinet members and heads of offices to pay personnel salaries and submit remittances on time and for his creation of a task force, which is currently ridding DepEd-ARMM of alleged "ghost teachers and employees."
