Budgets of crime-fighting agencies increased substantially, with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency

budget, for instance, posting an almost 100% increase. Dutertes own confidential and intelligence funds
are 400% higher than former President Benigno Aquino III's last year.

Philippine National Police

2017: P111.6 billion

2016: P88.5 billion
Up by 26%

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency

2017: P1.8 billion

2016: P957.1 million
Up by 92%

Dangerous Drugs Board

 2017: P125.1 million
2016: P115.2 million
Up by 8.6%

Office of the Presidents confidential and intelligence funds

2017: P2.5 billion

2016: P500 million
Up by 400%

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency

2017: P793.7 million

2016: P581.9 million
Up by 36%

Rehabilitate drug addicts

Rehabilitation of drug addicts is phase 2 of the campaign against illegal drugs, according to the Palace.

DDB funds for drug rehabilitation centers: P77 million

Department of Health treatment and rehabilitation centers: P2.6 billion

Double salaries of military and police in 3 years

Combat duty and combat incentive pay of military and police: P12.1 billion

Talk peace with Communist Party of the Philippines, Moro separatist groups

Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

2017: P8.1 billion

2016: P767.9 million
Up by 950%

The huge increase is because of the P7 billion for PAMANA projects to be implemented by OPAPP. In
previous years, OPAPP merely monitored the projects while they were implemented by other agencies.

PAMANA is a program that funds infrastructure and social development projects in conflict areas in the
belief that peace can only be achieved by addressing poverty, one of the causes of violence in the areas.

Decentralize economic growth

Internal Revenue Allotment for local governments

2017: P486.9 billion

2016: P428.6 billion
 Up by 13.6%

Local Government Support Fund

2017: P39.7 billion

2016: P19.1 billion
Up by 108%

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

2017: P32.3 billion

2016: P28.5 billion
Up by 13.2%

Mindanao Development Authority

2017: P170.4 million

2016: P117.2 million
Up by 45%

Prioritize education

Department of Education

2017: P544.1 billion

2016: P411.9 billion
Up by 32%

Commission on Higher Education

2017: P18.7 billion

2016: P5.6 billion
Up by 234%

P8.3 billion of CHED budget for free tuition for college students in state universities and colleges

State universities and colleges

2017: P58.7 billion (increase is for scholarship funds and capital outlay)
2016: P47.4 billion
Up by 24%

Improve Conditional Cash Transfer program

Department of Social Welfare and Development

2017: P128.3 billion

2016: P110.8 billion
 Up by 16%

Conditional Cash Transfer program

2017: P78.2 billion

2016: P62.7 billion
Up by 25%

Prioritize health, improve access of poor to free healthcare

Department of Health

2017 (including PhilHealth): P149.5 billion

2016 (including PhilHealth): P125.5 billion
Up by 19%

Health Facilities Enhancement Program

2017: P24.2 billion

2016: P26.9 billion
Down by 10%

Assistance to Indigent Patients

2017: P4 billion
2016: P2.8 billion
Up by 43%

The P3 billion increase for PhilHealth was approved to cover all Filipinos in a universal healthcare
program and so that indigent patients will not have to pay for anything in government hospitals under the
No Balance Billing (NBB) policy, said Senate finance committee chairperson Loren Legarda.

P4 billion was allocated for assistance to indigent patients, an increase from the P2.9 allocation in 2016.

P1.5 billion was also allocated for the Doctors to the Barrio program, construction of additional health
facilities, and medical assistance to indigent patients, added Legarda.

Improve transportation, development infrastructure to spread economic growth, decongest Metro

Manila

Department of Public Works and Highways

2017: P454.7 billion

2016: P384.3 billion
Up by 18%

Department of Transportation
 2017: P53.3 billion
2016: P42.6 billion
Up by 25%

P850 billion was allocated for the construction of road networks in cities and provinces, sea ports, airports,
school buildings, and hospitals.

Provide free irrigation

P2 billion subsidy allocated to subsidize irrigation fees

Help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

Department of Trade and Industry

2017: P4.7 billion

2016: P4.2 billion
Up by 12%

Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council Fund

2017: P21.3 million

2016: 21.3 million
No change

P1 billion was allocated under the Small Business Corporation so it can provide loans at almost no interest
to microenterprises, said Legarda.

Fight terrorism, secure national borders

Department of National Defense

2017: P137.2 billion

2016: P117.5 billion
Up by 17%

Help overseas Filipino workers

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

2017: P579.5 million

2016: P487.1 million
Up by 19%

Commission on Filipinos Overseas

2017: P84.3 million

 2016: P86.2 million
Down by 2.1%

Higher than usual funds for social protection

Social Watch Philippines (SWP), a non-governmental organization scrutinizing national budgets since
2006, spotted some unique characteristics of the 2017 budget.

Among recent administrations, the Duterte administration has allotted the biggest percentage of its budget
to social services.

Based on SWPs analysis, P1.3 trillion or 40% of the national budget is for education spending, health
care spending and social protection like direct cash transfers, said Isagani Serrano, Social Watch
Philippines co-convener and president of Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement.

Compared to previous budgets, thats bigger. During the Aquino administration, it did not hit 40%, it was
always around 30%. It was even lower during Gloria [Macapagal Arroyos] time, he told Rappler.

He commended the administration for higher conditional cash transfer funds, new rice grant funds under
CCT, and the P19.4 billion Assistance to Disadvantaged Municipalities.

Its going to help because thats a direct transfer. Any additional transfer to the poor municipalities, any
real transfer that happens to the poor is something to be welcomed for us, he said.

Serrano thinks the large budgets for education, health, and social services go well with the Duterte
administrations goal of bringing down the countrys poverty rate to 14% in 2022 from 21.6% in 2015. But
he thinks the government can do better.

This is a huge promise and the government can be probably commended for putting it at that ambition
level, but for us, its still not ambitious enough. We want to see extreme poverty ended under the Duterte
regime, said Serrano.

Is government funding the right infrastructure?

The P850-billion infrastructure budget seems poised to create more jobs and spur development in key parts
of the country. But Serrano wonders if its funding the kind of infrastructure that will bring about inclusive
economic growth.

He pointed out that a majority of the infra budget is for road network services, not public transportation
systems.

If its big infra, we want to see it in mass transit, in ports, because we are an archipelago so we want a
development of the port system and then the train system. We dont want expansion of highways, said
Serrano.

More highways create an incentive for car ownership which he said practically translates to an indirect
subsidy to the rich rather than the pro-poor public transit systems like trains and sea ports.
SWP also wanted to see more funds for light infrastructure: rural roads, electrification, and sanitation and
water infrastructure.

Funds prone to abuse

While Duterte continues to sound the call against corruption, Serrano said one needs only to look at the
2017 budget to see windows of opportunity for abusive spending practices.

For instance, he criticized the highly discretionary intelligence and confidential funds under the Office of
the President, which posted a 400% increase compared to 2016.

Because of the sensitive nature of the funds, they can only be looked into by the Commission on Audit
chairperson. But for Serrano, these funds can and should be explained after they are spent.

In the pre-audit, maybe not, we can understand because that will compromise whatever plans they have.
But after, there should be an accounting for it, he said.

Another red flag for Serrano is the supposed pork barrel-like funds for ARMM infrastructure projects that
had been lodged in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The roughly P9-billion funds were questioned by Senator Panfilo Lacson to the point that come bicameral
committee, members of the House of Representatives who pushed for the funds agreed to transfer the funds
to the Commission on Higher Education for free tuition in state-run universities.

But SWP pointed out that, despite this move, DPWH was able to retain the P9 billion because of other
additions to its budget.

SWP shares Lacsons concern that this additional budget likely came from the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (Calamity) Fund which experienced a large cut from a proposed
budget of P37.255 billion to a mere P15.755 billion in the signed 2017 budget law. That's a cut of P21.5
billion.

Serrano doesnt buy the House of Representatives' reasoning that just because projects are itemized means
they are not prone to pork-like practices.

This is probably all itemized, in that sense, its not pork. But if they have a connection to the projects
because they were the ones who proposed it and thats been pre-arranged with contractors, thats the thing
worth watching, said Serrano.

With the budget allocated, citizens should be on the lookout for how government money is spent. Only the
implementation of funded programs will show if the 2017 national budget helped fulfill President Dutertes
promises to the people. Rappler.com

Top gainers
Which government agency gained the most in the proposed 2017 national budget?

According to the 2017 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF), education, infrastructure,
and local government sectors gained the most, among others.

In terms of percentage increase, the budget of the President's offices has the highest increase at 600.35%
compared to this year's budget. The Department of Education's (DepEd's) Office of the Secretary received
the highest proposed increase in funds at P135.13 billion ($2.85 billion).

With a glaring 600% budget hike, the DBM explained that the Office of the President's P20.03 billion
($422.4 million) budget for 2017 includes some P15.46 billion ($326.02 million) for the 50th founding
anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines will play host next year.

The budget department announced that sans the hosting expenses, the financial plan for the President's
offices will grow by only P1.71 billion ($27.37 million) from 2016's P2.86 billion allocation ($60.22
million).

The DBM explained that money will be used primarily for intelligence activities related to the president's
war against drugs, criminals, and corruption. In the NEP, the budget on oversight management on national
security concerns is about P2.76 billion ($58.19 million).

Meanwhile, DepEd's suggested allocation for 2017 is pegged at P566.24 billion ($11.94 billion). It
represents a 31.35% jump from this year's allocation of P431.11 billion ($9.09 billion). Half of it will go to
teachers' salaries and school buildings, as outlined in the NEP.

The table below shows that DepEd is followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways' Office
of the Secretary budget with P61.50 billion ($1.30 billion) and the Internal Revenue Allotment at P58.27
billion ($1.23 billion) in terms of proposed increase in funds:

Top gainers 2017 2016 Increase [In %

(Proposed) (Adjusted) billion pesos]

[In billion [In billion

pesos] pesos]

DepEd, Office of the Secretary P566.24 P431.11 P135.13 31.35%

DPWH, Office of the Secretary P458.61 P397.11 P61.5 15.49%

ALGU, Internal Revenue P486.89 P28.62 P58.27 14.59%

Allotment

BSGC-DOH, Philippine Health P50.22 - P50.22 -

Insurance Corporation

Pension and Gratuity Fund P142.29 P109.97 P32.32 29.39%

DILG, Philippine National P110.40 P88.64 P21.76 24.55%
Police

DSWD, Office of the Secretary P129.67 P110.56 P19.11 17.29%

President's Offices P20.03 P2.86 P17.17 600.35%

ALGU, Local Government P34.62 P19.07 P15.55 81.49%

Support Fund

Autonomous Region in Muslim P41.782 P29.41 P12.37 42.05%

Mindanao

DPWH received a 15.49% increase from this year's allocation of P397.11 billion ($8.37 billion). The
P458.61-billion ($9.67-billion) proposed budget by the public works department will be used primarily for
building road networks and flood control systems.

Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Allotment for local governments received a 13.59% increase at P486.89
billion ($10.28 billion) from 2016's P428.62-billion ($10.18 billion) allocation.

The treemap below shows the distribution of funds among agencies in the proposed financial plan. Similar
to the previous years' budgets, the education sector got the lion's share of funds, while the Office of the
Vice President got the smallest slice of the pie this year. (To see the 2016 and 2015 budgets, click the other
tabs.)

Top losers?

The Department of Health (DOH), National Housing Authority, and the Commission on Elections got the
biggest cuts for 2017.

The DOH Office of the Secretary proposed a P92.97-billion ($1.96-billion) budget in 2017, or P31.09
billion ($654.37 million) less than this year's P124.06-billion ($2.61 billion) allocation.

This is not to say, however, that the budget for the health sector received the biggest cut.

The reason for the decrease in funds is attributed to the transfer of insurance premiums. In the 2016 budget,
these are lodged under the National Health Insurance Program of the government. Next year, it will be
transferred to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, one of the agencies with the biggest increases in
funding by P50.22 billion ($1.06 billion). (See table above)

In sum, the proposed budget for the health sector is at P144.3 billion ($3.04 billion), 15.4% higher than
2016 figures.

The table below shows the top 10 agencies with the highest drop in funds in the proposed 2017 budget:

Top losers 2017 2016 Decrease %

 (proposed) (adjusted) [In billion
pesos]
[In billion [In billion
pesos] pesos]

DOH, Office of the Secretary P92.966 P124.06 P31.09 25.06%

BSGC-OEO, National Housing P12.64 P30.48 P17.84 58.54%

Authority

Commission on Elections P3.32 P16.16 P12.83 79.44%

BSGC-DOF, Development Bank of the P5.00 P5.00 100%

-
Philippines

ALGU, Special Shares of LGUs in the P30.97 P35.92 P4.95 13.78%

Proceeds of National Taxes

DA, Office of the Secretary P35.69 P40.63 P4.94 12.16%

DFA, Office of the Secretary P16.63 P20.70 P4.07 19.66%

BSGC-DOF, Land Bank of the - P3.03 P3.03 100%

Philippines

DOF, Bureau of Internal Revenue P9.38 P11.31 P1.98 17.53%

DILG, Office of the Secretary P11.13 P13.09 P1.97 14.99%

The suggested budget for the National Housing Authority in 2017 is at P12.64 billion ($266.04 million)
which is significantly lower than this year's allocation of P30.48 billion ($641.53 million).

The decrease in funds is partly due to NHA's decreased share of housing assistance program for Super
Typhoon Yolanda victims. In the 2016 budget, about P25.6 billion ($538.82 million) was allotted for
Yolanda reconstruction. while the amount is lowered to P1.3 billion ($27.36 million) for 2017, following
the rehabilitation plan.

Next year, the bulk of the housing funds will go to the government's resettlement program for informal
settler families living in danger zones.

For obvious reasons, the Comelec's share of funds is substantially lowered in 2017 as this year's budget
included allocation for the national elections.

Will promised programs be funded?

The President has been very vocal about his promises, coupled with very strict deadlines.
Among those promised are the pay hike for cops and soldiers, sustaining the Conditional Cash Transfer
program, and infrastructure upgrades. (READ: SONA 2016: The Duterte promise tracker)

With only about a month to prioritize his promises in the 2017 national budget, the Duterte administration
is limited by what the previous administration has planned, as budget calls started last January.

Initially, Duterte promised last July to implement "incremental" salary increase for soldiers by August.
However, budget chief Diokno explained that this year's budget has no item to grant the increase.

Next year, soldiers and policemen can expect a slight raise in their salaries as P40 billion ($844.50 million)
has been allocated for the promise to be realized.

Meanwhile, the highly popular CCT program remains in the government's 2017 budget with an allocation
of P54.9 billion ($1.16 billion). Diokno announced that strict measures will be implemented to avoid
leakages.

Living up to Duterte's promises, the country's total infrastructure spending for 2017 will increase to P860.7
billion ($18.18 billion), equivalent to 5.4% of the GDP.

Expenditure Program

In terms of sectoral allocation, social services get the biggest chunk of the budget at P1.35 trillion ($28.46
billion), followed by economic services at P923.95 billion ($19.48 billion).

General public services which include allocations for general administration, public order and safety,
other general public services, and subsidies to local government units (LGUs) are to be given P581.84
billion ($12.27 billion). Defense gets P147.76 billion ($3.12 billion).

The chart below shows allocation per sector in the 2017 NEP as well as in the 2016 GAA:

Compared to the previous administration, the proposed financial plan for 2017 has reduced debt service
payments to P334.88 billion ($7.07 billion) from P392.80 billion ($8.29 billion) in 2016. The new deficit
target inceased to 3% of GDP.

Higher budget deficit which will translate to infrastructure programs and human capital expenditure
will "substantially offset" lower debt service, explained Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez in an earlier
report.

In the President's budget message, the new deficit target for the coming years will allow the administration
to spend more on infrastructure, rural development, and social services.

Given the limitations in the proposed national budget for 2017, will the Duterte administration be able to
fully maximize the nation's purse? Rappler.com