PCO, DoST, DICT budgets pass plenary

THE House Appropriations Committee approved on Friday the budgets of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) at the plenary level without interpellation from the minority bloc. The PCO's proposed P2.281-billion budget is 24.37 percent lower than its 2024 budget of P3.016 billion. APEC Party-list Rep. Sergio Dago-oc wanted a higher budget for the PCO, but because there was no interpellation, the proposed budget stood. The DoST's P28.46-billion allocation was also approved without interpellations. "Ang kanilang mga programs, nakita naman natin ay almost all ay community-based, maganda na sana ay nade-disseminate en-masse para sa ating mga investors (We see that almost all of their programs are community-based. It would be best that these would be disseminated en-masse for our investors)," ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said. Castro also wanted a higher budget specifically for the Dynaslope project that determines whether an area will be prone to landslides, especially during calamities. The DICT's (Department of Information and Communications Technology) P9.24-billion budget went through the wringer for its failure to implement some of its programs, including the Free Wi-Fi For All program. Rep. Bernadette Herrera said the P2.5 billion allocated under the program that came from the spectrum user fees paid by radio users would only last five months of subscription fees for its 13,462 active access points. "For the record, the P2.5 billion that was given under the SUF fees will not be enough as it will cut off the Free Wi-Fi that we gave to our countrymen after five months," Herrera told budget sponsor Makati Rep. Luis Campos Jr.