On budget review: Teno says it’s up to the Legislature

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio is keeping his hands off the legislative process of deliberating the fiscal budget which is expected to suffer long delays again as the House and the Senate lock horns on the proposed $221.66 million spending package.

The local chief executive said yesterday he would not lift a finger to press lawmakers to immediately approve the FY 2001 budget even though the new fiscal year already started on Oct. 1.

“It is not appropriate for me to tell the Legislature what to do,” he told reporters in an interview after signing three appropriation measures in the presence of some lawmakers.

“I am sure that the Legislature is concerned about the budget and they are trying their best to pass the budget,” added Mr. Tenorio.

The Senate has yet to approve the budget proposal passed in August by the lower house as it is expected to closely scrutinize each of the items to fund other programs ignored by its counterpart.

Fiscal Affairs Committee chair Sen. Edward U. Maratita has earlier expressed concern that no dollar amount was provided to payment of long-overdue salary adjustment to some of the former and current government employees.

He is eyeing between $2 million to $3 million to meet the obligation to nearly 2,000 employees who are entitled to the 14 percent pay hike mandated under PL 7-31.

The House did not allocate specific funding for such purpose, although it inserted provision requiring the government to reprogram surplus budget from personnel expenditures into the salary increase.

Because of the absence of funds, the upper house is likely to slash appropriation in some of the independent programs to provide the money for these employees as well as to cover shortfall in the proposed budget for Rota and Tinian municipalities.

With the anticipated changes to the budget proposal, both houses are expected to go into bicameral conference to hammer out a compromise.

But the process usually takes some time as lawmakers negotiate a deal mutually favorable to both chambers, which means another delay while the government runs under continuing resolution.

This is the second time in a row that the budget review has gone beyond the constitutionally-mandated deadline before the new fiscal year begins.

The previous budget was only approved last May, but the governor had to veto the measure due to potential deficit spending with barely four months into FY 2001.

Due to failure to approve the proposed budget handed in by the administration in April, the government is operating under the FY 99 spending level of $216 million — lower than this year’s projected revenues of $221.66 million.