Alan Cayetano: Infra funds should be released even amid COVID-19

The Department of Budget and Management should not withhold fund releases for infrastructure projects identified in the 2020 national budget amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday.

Cayetano made the remark after Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado announced that 35 percent of programmed appropriations under the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 would no longer be released to augment funds for COVID-19 response.

“Hindi dapat magalaw yung infra [fund releases] unless useless ‘yung project or hindi kayang i-implement ‘yung project because infra [projects] drives economic activity,  lalo po sa mga sulok-sulok ng ating bansa,” Cayetano told reporters.

“Binabantayan namin yung mga circular. There's a brewing disagreement between us, and tingin namin tama ang Kongreso na kapag ganitong national emergency at nandyan yung batas," he added.

"Halimbawa, nandyan ‘yung isang project na tulay, multi-year, ginagawa na, so siyempre hindi mo pwedeng galawin yung pera kasi kailangan mo nang bayaran ‘yan,” Cayetano said.

The DBM defines programmed appropriations as those which already have definite funding sources and are readily implementable.

Unprogrammed appropriations, on the other hand, are not yet funded but are nevertheless included by Congress in the General Appropriations Act or the budget law.

Cayetano said infrastructure projects are especially important for areas under enhanced community quarantine since the lockdown has banned mass transport, prohibited mass gathering and imposed curfew hours, resulting in work stoppages in many industries.

“Iyong mga areas na ito,magsasabi ka magkakansel ka ng project sa Luzon or magkakansel ka ng project sa IV-A, ilang libong tao dun ang umaasa lang na after ng quarantine may babalikan silang hanapbuhay,” Cayetano said.

“I’m not talking about the big businessmen or contractor, I'm talking about ‘yung mga manggagawa,” he added.

Cayetano said that fund releases for infrastructure projects which are not yet granted to the winning bidder or are yet to start and are found ill-fit could be stopped amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Halimbawa, um-order ka ng P500 million worth ng papel. Kung na-deliver na ‘yung P100 million, kunin mo. Siguro sabihin mo, Sir, nandyan sa warehouse ‘yung P100 million, bayaran mo, pero yung P300-million, hindi pwedeng protektahan at hindi mo pwedeng sabihin na Sir, may ano na ‘yan eh, di ba,” Cayetano said.

“We will not violate contracts but we will have to look at every single centavo na pwedeng gamitin para sa tao, para labanan ang COVID, kasama dyan ang laban sa gutom,” he added.

Before Avisado issued the memo, Congress passed the Bayanihan law which allowed President Rodrigo Duterte to realign P275 billion of the P4.1 trillion 2020 national budget to raise funds to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippines has recorded 7,192 COVID-19 cases as of 4 pm of Friday, April 24. Of this number, 762 have recovered while 477 have died. -NB, GMA News