The national budget for 1899

NOW that Congress is scrutinizing the national budget submitted by the executive branch with a fine-tooth comb, I cannot help but look far back into the past to see how we have developed in terms of expenditures or what are considered expenses of the republic. The summary of expenditures for 1899 is quite intriguing since the figures did not reach billions like they do today.

The First Section dealt with "general obligations" and yet the allowance for personnel in Congress was left blank, although supplies were pegged at P9,585. For the Supreme Court personnel was P21,078 and supplies, P5,000. There was a provision for passage money and salaries of civil employees who travel by water amounting to P12,000. Those who travel on land or on foot didn't seem to have been reckoned. Then as now there was a provision for "emergency appropriations" for "unforeseen expenses" in the amount of P13,200.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had a budget for the Office of the Secretary of P3,240 for personnel and P1,200 for supplies. What is intriguing here is that "unforeseen expenses" of the diplomatic corps were pegged at P60,000, while P12,000 allocated for the Archive of Foreign and Special Affairs was placed under "emergency" and "unforeseen expenses." One could say that the founding fathers inserted items in the budget that were not clear or itemized.

The Office of the Interior Affairs Secretary had appropriations for personnel and supplies like everyone else, but it also had a P10,000 budget for "transportation and maintenance of recruits" and funds for Penal Institutions, salaries and expenses for prisons. The budget for unforeseen expenses was lower than that in Foreign Affairs at P6,000.

One of the biggest appropriations was for the War and Navy Department, and this is understandable since the First Republic was waging a war against the United States. What was different in this budget was that there were allocations for: military household of the President, P4,680; President's Escort P816; President's Guard P2,034; and Pampanga Mounted Guerrillas, P1,056. There were allocations for a Sanitary Brigade, hospitals, personnel of 33 battalions, rations and even pensions for deeds of war. The budget for emergency and unforeseen expenses was quite high at P1,795,680, compared to those for other departments.

The Treasury Department had allocations for: expenses for transfer of funds, P6,200; cost of stamped articles, P10,000; and printing expenses, P60,000. Would you believe that they gave commissions for collection of the following: city taxes, P3,100; industrial taxes, P12,460; war taxes, P202,500; Chinese poll-tax, P6,000; and even the sale of articles under a government monopoly, P4,000?

Were these real commissions or incentives or tax breaks? We cannot tell from the budget, but surely there is some other document that explains how this was computed and given out.

The war tax was quite large and though I would like to believe that this was raised out of patriotic fervor, there were some documented complaints from citizens asking the president to look into anomalies in the collection of the war tax, that to some was not voluntary but forced and could be seen as extortion.

Another surprising item in the Treasury budget was a provision for the refund or return of money unduly collected under closed estimates with no figure given. I also cannot make out what they mean by "participants in fines imposed by competent authority P5,000." Unforeseen and emergency expenses were pegged at P12,000.

Education was under a Department of Public Instruction that was given a total of P35,468 for personnel, supplies and "scientific, artistic, special and literary institutions," whatever that means. No breakdown of the expenses was given, and we can now ask whether schools remained operational during the Filipino-American War.

Communications and Public Works also had a budget that was smaller than the military's and pegged at P361,366 for personnel, supplies, surveys and new works for: railways, waters, rivers, canals, highways, bridges, lighthouses and even a meteorological observatory!

Last but not least, we have the Department of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce which had a total budget of P21,688 covering personnel, supplies, model farms, forestry and mines.

Reading the budget for 1899 may not be a favorite pastime but it illustrates how simpler life was a century ago. The 1899 budget could be read in one sitting unlike the present budget that is as thick as a phone book.

The 2004 budget will be read by a future historian first as a record of expenses, but also as a way to understand the challenges and concerns of our times.

Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu