I am tempted to write as the title of this week’s column the phrase “passing the buck”.

The national government budget (for 2006, it is proposed to be P1 trillion) is an important determinant of our socio-economic progress.

Budget means funds for programs and projects worth several hundred million pesos distributed all over the country. It is the fuel that enables government to run like a well-oiled machine.

What then has passing the buck got to do with “passing the budget”? Passing the buck is giving to others what one is supposed to do. It is like passing the ball in a basketball game. A player gives the responsibility (of scoring) to another player.

The same thing could hold true to the budget. The process of budget review and approval involves many players mainly the executive and legislative branches of government.

The passage of the budget could be stalled in Congress. Last year, the Senate surprised everybody, especially the House of Representatives, by passing the budget without any change, thus signifying its complete agreement with the executive branch headed by the President. It was unprecedented. The budget’s passage was not stalled.

This year the Senate is not going to do the same thing. The budget’s approval is already delayed by a month and it could even be delayed by another month. The prospect of a “reenacted” budget looms in the horizon.

A reenacted budget is “bad news”. Our national economic planners believe that the delay and the reenacted budget could slow down growth from the target of at least 5.7 to 6.3 percent to a maximum of 5.3 percent. This is due to the fact that government spending under the 2005 budget is 14.7 percent lower than the proposed 2006 budget.

If this happens, who would be caught holding the “buck” or the “ball”?

In either case, the country suffers.

So, please stop passing the buck and/or stop passing the ball. It is time to shoot and score.