MANILA - Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares revealed Thursday that 50 percent of the national budget is made up of lump sums.
Speaking to radio dzMM, Colmenares said officials are given too much discretion on how to use up a large chunk of the national budget. He said that even if 8-10 percent of the national budget is allocated for contingencies, the 50 percent given over to lump sums is still too much.
"More than 50% of budget are lump sums. Bakit nagbudget ka pa kung yun din ang laman ng budget? P20 billion for roads, P50 billion for irrigation, saan ilalagay yun? Sinasadya yun e," he said.
He also noted that since the Arroyo administration, the government has been bloating the national budget so that by the end of the year there will be savings.
"If there are savings, that's a discretionary fund that can be used by the head of the agency," he said.
Radio dzMM, September 12, 2013