The Chamber of Deputies approved the Executive Branch’s request for congressional authorization of a RD$1.79-billion transfer of National Budget funds. The bill had already been approved by the PRD-majority Senate and mandates the allocations shuffle that will see RD$950 million redirected to the President’s Office. The bill received the favorable vote of 79 deputies of a total 150. While the PLD deputies abstained, only the 14 deputies of the PRSC group under Licelot Marte de Barrios and Victor (Ito) Bisono voted in favor.
If the PRSC had not lent its support, the bill would not have been passed. The “Reformista” deputies have been a cohesive force so far, voting for most requests sent down from Mejia’s government.
Political analyst Orlando Gil, in his column in the Listin Diario, comments on the sympathetic PRSC vote despite their presidential candidate, Eduardo Estrella, having urged deputies to oppose the request. Gil speculates that there may have been a covert agreement among the deputies and mentions that the magic of Alfredo Pacheco, PRD president of the Chamber of Deputies, is taking effect. He comments that Pacheco met recently with Jacinto Peynado of the PRSC in the US. In his analysis today, he points out that while the PRSC cannot unify to successfully advance a candidacy or direct their party, they have voted regularly to support the Mejia government. “The approval makes it clear that the legislative subordination to the Executive Branch is still in effect,” he writes.
President Mejia had originally requested that Congress authorize the RD$1.79-billion allocation structure of the National Budget on 2 September. The transfer will affect the budgets of the ministries of Education, Environment, and Industry & Commerce, as well as the allotments to pay the public debt.
A sum of RD$950 million would be diverted to the Office of the President of the Republic, the Ministry of the Interior and Police, the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Foreign Relations Ministry.
The precise breakdown of the transfers, as reported in Diario Libre, is as follows:
The Education Ministry is to see a withdrawal of RD$109 million that had been previously assigned to student welfare services (RD$90 million) and pedagogical technical services (RD$19 million), to now pay for teacher pensions and retirement plans (RD$35.1 million), donations and personal aid programs (RD$54.8 million) and RD$19 million for decentralized institutions.
The Industry & Commerce Ministry would see reductions of RD$5 million in its budget for the coordination of councils and commissions, while RD$5.6 million would be allotted to unnamed programs for the regulation of prices, norms and quality control systems.
The Environment Ministry will lose RD$7 million from its regular budget, but in exchange should receive RD$34.8 million for the preservation of protected areas, RD$1.3 million for environmental quality programs, RD$11.1 million for activities and RD$1.5 million for unallocated sectors.
Payment of the public debt is reduced by RD$1.67 billion
Of the funds to be transferred to the Presidency of the Republic, RD$950.5 million would be designated for use in construction and improvements (RD$408.4 million), public transport (RD$34 million), drug control (RD$36 million), advertising (RD$40 million), coordination of social programs (RD$267 million), and a division described as “current capital transfers from the private and public sectors” (RD$94.8 million).
The Ministry of Interior & Police would receive RD$154.7 million for the police force (RD$132 million) and firefighting brigades (RD$11.7 million).
The Armed Forces would see an additional RD$139.75 million allocated to their budget.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would receive RD$297 million for dispersal to the foreign diplomatic corps. The additional funding is attributed to the devaluation of the peso.
Other government departments to receive allotments from the shuffled budget are Finances (RD$24.5 million), Agriculture (RD$32.4 million), Tourism (RD$14 million), Attorney General’s Office (RD$20 million) and Superior Education (RD$11 million).