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P41.4B cut from budgets of agencies with under-utilized allocations —Lacson

By AMITA LEGASPI, GMA News

Some P41.429 billion were cut from the allocations of some departments in the version of the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 which the Senate approved last week.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said he proposed the realignment of the funds due to what he called was the under-utilization of the funds and the inefficient implementation of projects by the agencies concerned.

The biggest cut that Lacson proposed and which the Senate approved was the P20.129 billion removed from the Department of Public Works and Highways, including the P15 billion from right of way appropriations.

Lacson said the unused appropriations of DPWH from 2011 to 2018 was P82.4 billion. The obligation rate in 2017 was 92.1% but the disbursement rate was 36.3%, he said.

He also recommended deducting P5 billion from the Public-Private Partnerships strategic support fund, including right-of-way, subsidy, and variations; and P129.287 million from dredging and desilting projects in Manila.

Lacson also proposed to deduct P14 billion in the Basic Education Facilities program due to backlogs and problems in implementation.

“To set aside a substantial budget for the Basic Education Facilities Program without first resolving the backlogs, and the problems in the implementation is an inefficient allocation of resources,” Lacson said.

The senator also suggested the deduction of P5 billion from the right-of-way acquisitions fund of the Department of Transportation due to “significantly low” obligation rate, “with inefficient management of ROW payments resulting to backlog of flagship programs.”

Lacson recommended to deduct P2 billion in the National Greening Program and P300 million in the health promotion program due to low obligation and disbursement rate.

“Of the P292.2 million for health promotion in 2019, only 51.35% was obligated and out of the obligation, only 24.38% was disbursed,” Lacson said.

The proposed institutional amendments were included in letters, dated November 22 and 27, Lacson submitted to Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, Senate finance committee chairman, and released to the media Wednesday.

Lacson also requested additional funding for the following programs and projects:

National ID 

Increase the budget of the PSA, which will implement the National ID system, by P5.645 billion, from P1.364 billion to P7.009 billion.

Agriculture

  1. Agripreneurship Program: add P500 million
  2. National Soil Health Program: add P500 million

Education 

  1. School-based Feeding Program: add P1 billion (from P5.9745 billion to P6.9475 billion)
  2. Quick Response Fund: add P2 billion (from P2 billion in GAB to P4 billion, with the added P2 billion to come from fund for Basic Education Facilities)
  3. Last Mile Schools Program: add P12 billion, as the program is substantially underfunded (from P1.5 billion in GAB to P14.5 billion, with the added P12 billion to come from Basic Education Facilities)

State Universities and Colleges

  1. Add P537.991 billion for UPLB’s National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. “In this day and age of Artificial Intelligence and Biotechnology, we need to support BIOTECH’s continuing effort to modernize and improve its operations in accordance with its mandate.”

Higher Education 

  1. Increase P2 billion for Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education, from P43.88 billion in GAB to P45.88 billion. The increase shall be allotted to TES.

Environment

  1. Environmental Pollution Research: augment monitoring and inventory of greenhouse gases of pollution laboratories in Visayas and Mindanao by P2.352 million (add P200 million for topographic base mapping, geodetic surveys of NAMRIA with the additional amount to come from National Greening Program).

Health

  1. Health Facilities Enhancement Program: add P1 billion such that its allocation will be P6.8647 billion.
  2. Human Resource for Health: add P2 billion such that its allocation will be P11.4535 billion.
  3. Philippine Health Insurance Corp.: increase P4 billion from P72.353 billion in GAB to P76.292 billion.

Information and Communications Technology

  1. Increase the appropriations of the Department of Information and Communications Technology by P5.13 billion, to fund the Cooperative Broadband Access Build for underserved areas; Managed Satellite Broadband Internet Service for far-flung areas; Mobility Assets for 85 DICT field operations offices.
  2. Allocate P475 million to the National Telecommunications Commission for National Emergency Communication Resiliency.

Peace and Order 

  1. Increase the maintenance and operating expenses of the PNP by P101.75 million, such that its allocation will be P3.7615 billion.

Muslim Filipinos 

  1. Increase appropriations of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos by P198.445 million, such that its allocation will be P843.575 million.

National Defense

  1. In the budget of the Philippine Veterans' Affairs Office, increase appropriation for veterans benefits by P75 million, add P11.01 million for those under contract of service and increase appropriations for PVAO by P86.010 million.
  2. In the allocations for the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, increase appropriations for medicines of outpatients by P200 million and augment appropriation for COS and JO workers by P55.056 million.

Science and Technology

  1. Increase the budget of the office of the Secretary of Science and Technology by P250 million such that the allocation will be P5.524 billion.
  2. Increase the allocation for Niche Center in the Regions for Research and Development (NICER) by P50 million.
  3. Increase the budget for Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) increase by P100 million.
  4. Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (CRADLE): P100 million.

Transportation Safety

  1. Add P469.504 million for the Philippine Coast Guard.
  2. Add P75.07 million for the PCG General Hospital.
  3. Add P232.853 million for fuel for new vehicles and boats.
  4. Add P140.581 million for insurance for new vessels and vehicles.
  5. Add P21 million for the provincial station in Basilan.

Anti-Drug War

  1. Increase the budget of the Dangerous Drugs Board's Anti-Illegal Drugs Strategy (PADS) by P80 million, from P553.661 million in GAB to P633.661 million.
  2. Increase appropriations of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency by P520 million, from P2.480 billion in GAB to P3 billion (this includes P200M for long firearms, P100M for protective equipment, P20M for ammo, P200M for raman spectroscopy and x-rays).

Mindanao

  1. MinDA: increase funding by P36.492 million.
  2. SPDA: increase appropriations by P74.766 million, from P75.574 million in GAB to P150.34 million.

Peace Process

  1. Increase OPAPP PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn program by P500 million, from P492.5 million in GAB to P992.5 million.
  2. Increase normalization program in Bangsamoro by P1 billion from P87.732 million in GAB to P1.087 billion; decrease unprogrammed appropriations for Normalization Program by P1 billion.
  3. Increase appropriations for OPAPP by P1.5 billion, from P1.178 billion in GAB to P2.678 billion.

Human Rights 

  1. Increase the budget of the Commission on HUman Rights by P105 million from P863.138 million in GAB to P968.138 million. This includes P5 million for witness assistance program, and P10 million for support to different HR awareness popularization and other IEC materials. —NB, GMA News
Tags: 2020budgetbill, pinglacson, economy
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