Expenditures and Debt Target Guidelines and Policies for Calendar Year 1977

September 22, 1976

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 462

WHEREAS, the Batasang Bayan in first session assembled has approved Resolution No. 5, recommending national revenue expenditure and debt targets for Calendar Year 1977, declaring: cd i

"WHEREAS, the national budget is a key government instrument for the attainment of national development objectives;

"WHEREAS, limited available resources call for careful evaluation of agency programs and projects, to ensure maximum support to priority activities;

"WHEREAS, development objectives call for such high levels of investment expenditure that cannot be funded entirely from current revenues but which require funding from both domestic and international sources;

"WHEREAS, the amount of government borrowings from domestic and foreign sources affect domestic credits and the international Balance of Payments, and thus the level of consumer prices and the international value of the peso;

WHEREAS, growth objectives call for a balance among social services, economic development, peace and order, and the other sectors of government endeavor;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, and in accordance with the recommendations of the Batasang Bayan, hereby prescribe the following expenditures and debt target guidelines and policies for Calendar Year 1977:

1. Budgetary Priorities.— Agrarian reform, food production, and community services shall continue to be given primary emphasis in the determination of budgetary levels.

Existing and new budgetary programs shall be evaluated with the aim of fostering:

a. Self-reliance in security and international relationships;

b. Employment through the use of labor-intensive processes;

c. Balanced agro-industrial growth in the countryside;

d. The rehabilitation and development of Mindanao, in the aftermath of the August earthquake and tsunami;

e. Integrated and purposive implementation of reforestation, water impounding, waterworks, hydroelectric, and irrigation programs as a means of natural resource conservation and regional development;

f. Foreign exchange earnings through the encouragement of tourism, export of commodities, services and other invisibles;

g. Housing, nutrition, health, family planning, and other social services intended for the economically deprived. aisa dc

2. Budgetary Levels.— The determination of revenue, expenditure and debt targets shall be in accordance with the following general policies:

a. Revenues shall be targeted at P23.9 billion or 16% of Gross National Product;

b. Obligational authority for current operating expenditures shall be P16.9 billion or 71% of total government revenues;

c. Obligational authority for capital outlays shall be P10.5 billion or 38% of total expenditure;

d. Activities financed by borrowings shall not exceed P3.5 billion or 2.4% of Gross National Product; and

e. New Revenue measures shall be adopted to yield an additional P1.0 billion, representing 4.2% of estimated CY 1977 receipts.

3. Functional Allocation of Expenditures.— The determination of agency ceilings by departments, bureaus, and other offices, shall be undertaken such as to observe as closely as possible a function allocation pattern that considers the complementary role of government and the private sector and of fiscal and credit programs and which covers both current operating and capital outlays:

		Amount	Percent
Economic Development	P11.0 billion	40.20%
	Agriculture, Fishery
	& Forestry	2.1	7.7
	Industry	0.6	2
	International Relations
	and Trade	0.2	1
	Utilities and Infrastructure	8	29
Social Services	5	18.3
		——	——
	Education and Manpower	2.8	10
	Health and Nutrition	1.1	4
	Housing	0	2
	Social Welfare and
	Community Development	0.7	3
Defense and Maintenance of
	Peace and Order	5	18.2
		——	——
General Administration	6.4	23.3
		——	——
TOTAL	P27.4 billion	100.00%
		=========	======

4. Regional Allocation of Expenditures.— The expenditures of national government agencies shall be evaluated for consistency with regional development plans as determined by Regional Development Councils. Agency expenditures shall accordingly be presented as far as possible with a regional allocation, provision to be made for Central Offices and other similarly non-regionalized expenditures. aisa dc

DONE in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of September, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Six. aisa dc