Diokno: P75B augmentation in DPWH’s 2019 budget is not an insertion

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday said the additional P75-billion allocation for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget next year is not an insertion as alleged by House leaders.

“There is no such as thing as insertion in the 2019 National Expenditure Program,” Diokno said in his weekly breakfast forum in Manila.

The Budget chief made the statement a day after the Question Hour at the House of Representatives wherein he was grilled by Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. about the alleged P51-billion “insertions” in the DPWH’s budget for 2019.

During the Question Hour, Diokno revealed that the augmentation for the budget of DPWH next year was P75.5 billion, several billion pesos more than what Andaya alleged as an “insertion.”

During the forum, however, Diokno emphasized that the P75.5-billion augmentation cannot be an “insertion” because it is part of the budget process.

“It’s not an insertion because it is part of the process,” he said.

The Budget chief explained that the DPWH originally proposed a total of P652 billion to the DBM, which approved P123.9 billion for the first tranche and P356 billion for the second tranche, for a total of P480.2 billion.

However, he said that since the DBM wants the 5-percent of gross domestic product share of infrastructure to be met, the department decided to adjust the budget and add another P75.5 billion.

Diokno said that before the P75.5-billion adjustment in the DPWH or what the House leaders claim as “insertions,” the share of infrastructure to GDP was only at 4.9 percent.

“Our commitment is to disburse the equivalent of 5 percent of GDP for infrastructure ... We want to make five, that’s why I decided to adjust the budget of DPWH by 75.5 billion additional,” he said.

The Budget chief also said President Rodrigo Duterte knew about the augmentation.

“This is part of what we presented to the President. So we added P75.5 billion. The total budget of public works is P555 billion. That is the budget as presented to President, as approved by the Cabinet. That is the process,” he said.

“The point is the President submitted a budget. And he is supportive of that budget. That is the President’s budget,” he added.

Diokno emphasized that the DBM’s role is to evaluate and review the budget proposals of implementing agencies.

“We are not in charge of the agencies’ disbursement activities. We do not implement projects. We do not award contracts. We only allocate funds,” he added. —KG/VDS, GMA News