DISMISSING Sen. Eddie Calvo’s budget shortfall warning as “nothing more than election politics,” Sen. Ben Pangelinan said yesterday revenue and expenditure projections for fiscal year 2010 are actually showing a fund surplus of over $100 million.
Pangelinan, chairman of the finance committee, said figures presented at the Special Economic Service meeting on July 6 revealed projected collections of $602 million and projected expenditures of $500 million, leaving $102 million available for tax refunds.
The Barrigada senator chastised Calvo for missing the SES meeting at which the panel hammered out the budget figures.
“If Senator Calvo had taken time out from his busy campaign schedule to attend the meeting he would have known that adjustments have been made since the beginning of the fiscal year to avoid any major budget problems,” Pangelinan said.
Calvo, a gubernatorial candidate under the Republican Party, claimed on Sunday that the revenue tracking for the third quarter of the current fiscal year has indicated a $16.3 million shortfall, which he said can be attributed to the administration’s bloated revenue projection.
Variety tried to seek comments from budget director Bertha Duenas but she had not returned Variety’s call as of press time.
“It is unfortunate that a candidate for governor is running around trying to create panic in our community when clearly steps have been taken and are continuously being taken to avoid any major problems,” Pangelinan said.
“Governors must have the ability to focus on solving problems, not announcing problems; act to make adjustments accordingly, not call on others to do so. Presenting solutions and cooperatively working on these solutions shows true leadership, instead of politics as usual,” he added.
The finance committee chairman said his office has been coordinating with the administration’s fiscal policy team “to effectively manage government expenditures to account for our reduced revenue collections.”
Pangelinan: What shortfall?
