RP to seek $15.7-16.08b budget

RP to seek $15.7-16.08b budget

MANILA: President Gloria Arroyo is likely to seek a 2004 national budget of between 850 billion and 870 billion pesos (15.7 billion to US$16.08 billion) from the Philippines Congress next week, an official said on Thursday.

Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin said the upper estimate would take into account some $600 million in Swiss bank deposits of the late deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos that the Supreme Court awarded to the government last week.

The proposed budget for 2004 would be higher than the 804 billion pesos approved for 2003.

Boncodin told reporters that the 2004 budget proposal is in line with the government's forecast of 2004 gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between 4.9 and 5.8 percent.

The budget deficit ceiling for 2004 has been set at 198 billion pesos or 4.2 percent of GDP, she added.

The Philippines has been struggling to keep its budget deficit under control despite growing demands for increased government spending to upgrade infrastructure, improve services and help fight poverty.

The budget deficit ceiling for 2003 has been set at 202 billion pesos or about 4.6 percent of GDP. -- AFP