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Plan to slash DoST budget to break tech momentum

The Arroyo administration could break the government’s momentum in catching up to meet the technology needs of the country should the Lower House pursue slashing more than P1 billion allocation for the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) in the budget proposals for 2010, government officials said.

DoST Undersecretary Fortunato dela Peรฑa said the proposal of the budget committee of the House of Representatives to allocate only P4.9 billion for the department could delay improvements in the enabling capacities of the department by three years.

In one of the first budget committee hearings held at the House on Tuesday, Dela Peรฑa said the government proposed to cut 16 percent or a total of P8 million from the earlier budget of P5.7 billion for DoST approved in the budget for 2009.

The DoST undersecretary for research and development explained that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) suggested to remove 99 percent of DoST allocation for capital outlay, bringing down the figure from P1.14 billion down to a mere P41 million next year.

โ€œIt will definitely affect our plan for the next three years because we would not be able to accomplish the request of local governments for access to our quality of science and technology. We have dreams of improving our facilities across different regions that will not be realized,โ€ Dela Peรฑa said.

With the denial of almost P1.2 billionfrom the DoST budget for 2010, Dela Peรฑa said people in the regions outside Metro Manila may also be denied access to science and technology since it was supposed to fund the establishment of DoST infrastructures nationwide.

He also expressed fears that the DoST would not be able start to build new campuses in Clark, Pampanga, and Baguio City as well as expand DoST regional centers or construction of provincial offices with adequate facilities in Kalinga, Apayao, and Zamboanga.

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