The Department of Budget and Management and the inter-agency Development Budget Coordinating Committee calls this amount "fiscal space" based forward estimates. "(These) are ceilings or allocable amounts as approved by the DBCC," Andaya, who is the chair of the DBCC, said.

"(The P46.1 billion) is allocated for new and existing programs for infrastructure, housing, environment, education, health, science and technology, agriculture and poverty alleviation," he added.

Under the P1.4-trillion proposed national budget for 2009, Andaya said they have increased by P24.2 billion the budget for agri-related reforms for programs of price subsidies, hunger mitigation, among others. Hunger-alleviation will have a bigger budget of P39.7 billion.

For this year, based on the program, the government should have extra budget of P57.7 billion, based on the obligation ceiling of P1.3 trillion.

This is higher than the P38-billion allocable budget for 2007, allotted for priority sectors such as health, basic education and infrastructures.

The "fiscal space" budgeting is consistent with the DBM’s three-year rolling budget. The forward estimates next year is limited to P1.169 trillion.

For 2008, the original extra budget proposal was P123.3 billion; for 2009 it is P143.9 billion (from P229.3 billion); and for 2010 the fiscal space is estimated at P269.3 billion (from P405.3 billion).

The DBCC also approved forward estimates or a three-year budget of P1.232 trillion for 2009; and P1.309 trillion for 2010. The DDM has yet to finalize the list of priority areas for the additional budget.

Of the P57.7 billion allotted for 2008, P34.7 billion will go to infrastructure, P7.9 billion for basic education and P3 billion for health services. About P23 billion may be allotted to so-called "emerging priorities" including payments to loans or arrears by government owned and controlled corporations such as the National Power Corp. and the National Food Authority.