By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

SENATORS yesterday reconsidered their preliminary agreement to implement budget cuts across the board, saying that priority agencies would be hurt by such option.
“My original intention was to implement cuts on all agencies with the exemption of the (Guam Public School System). But I had to withdraw my amendment because several senators were concerned that making cuts across the board would be problematic,” Vice Speaker Eddie B. Calvo, R-Maite, said.
The lawmakers began discussing the alternative amendment offered by Sen. Adolpho B. Palacios, D-Ordot/Chalan Pago, who sought to exempt critical agencies from the cuts. These agencies include GPSS, the Guam Police Department, the Attorney General’s Office, the Judiciary, the Mayor’s Council, and the Guam Memorial Hospital.
“Both the majority and minority senators are inclined to reach a consensus on this amendment,” Calvo said.
The challenging task for senators now, Calvo added, involved reductions in spending and reduced appropriations for the rest of the agencies and departments.
During a session Wednesday night, senators again discovered a shortfall of $11 million as a result of their decision to restore the original appropriations for many agencies.