HOUSE PASSES BUDGET BILL AMID JIBES

       The House of Representatives yesterday morning passed the 2010 budget bill by 244 to 10 votes, ending 42 hours of deliberation.
       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva promised after the vote that the government would ensure the money was well spent.
       Initially debate on the 2010 budget bill was expected to end about 2am yesterday.
       However, in the end it ended much later, about 10am yesterday.
       Of the MPs in the House,244 voted to pass the bill. Ten others voted against the bill, and 69 MPs abstained.
       The government will spend 1.7 trillion baht during the next fiscal year. The 2010 Budget Act comprises 34 articles.
       Yesterday morning's deliberation focused on education and public health issues.
       Some members of the opposition Puea Thai Party attacked the budget during the debate as inefficient, saying the money earmarked for boosting the economy would not be enough.
       Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said the money allocated to the Public Health Ministry under the 2010 budget was very small. It meant that over the next seven years, the ministry could not afford to renovate any hospital buildings or construct new buildings.
       However, the "Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength" programme,which is the government's economic stimulus programme, would offer money for construction work at all provincial hospitals and 60 district hospitals, said Mr Witthaya.
       LET ME GO HOME: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, captured in different moods during the lengthy and at times feisty budget bill debates in the House, which lasted from Friday until yesterday morning.