Senate approves extension of 2021 budget until end of 2022 on second reading

The Senate on Tuesday approved on second reading the bill seeking the extension of the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) until December 31, 2022.

House Bill 10373 was approved by the chamber with a dissenting opinion from Senator Panfilo Lacson.

During the period of interpellations, Lacson said Congress had been passing measures extending the validity of the national budget for several years already.

“Are we not condoning to the point of institutionalizing the inefficiency of the implementing agencies?” Lacson asked.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Sonny Angara, sponsor of the measure, explained that the COVID-19 pandemic and “for later release” policy imposed by the Executive Department had made it difficult for implementing agencies to disburse and utilize their budgets.

“Nu’ng panahon ng pre-pandemic, hirap na tayo mag-comply sa cash-based budgeting, which we imposed to ourselves as a way to fight underspending, then the pandemic came and obstacles were placed in the way of the agencies tapos nag-FLR pa tayo so another obstacle which was self imposed,” Angara said.

(During the pre-pandemic period, we are already having a hard time in complying with the cash-based bugeting which we imposed to ourselves as a way to fight underspending, then the pandemic came and obstacles were placed in the way of the agencies then we imposed FLR so that's another obstacle which was self imposed.)

The lawmaker said it would take about five years before the government can really assess the readiness of the implementing agencies in adopting the cash-based budgeting.

“If you talk to the agencies, hirap talaga sila maybe sa  (they are really struggling maybe because of the) culture shift,” he said.

Angara assured his colleagues that bicameral conference commitee is considering a provision in the proposed 2022 national budget, which provides a “halfway house” between the obligation-based and cash-based budgeting system.

“It maintains the feature of the cash-based budgeting which would force agencies to obligate the money in the calendar year of the budget while it gives them the leeway of making the disbursements and full payment in the succeeding year so parang (it’s like a) hybrid system na for 2022 sana,” Angara said.

The Senate has approved the measure a day after it was sponsored on the floor.

Angara earlier appealed to his colleagues to prioritize this measure as it was not certified as urgent, which means the senators have to pass the measure on third reading three days after it was approved on second reading.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said they hope to pass HB 10373 on third reading on Monday.

“I’m willing to ask our colleagues to extend by having Thursday sessions this week and next week to be able to finish important legislative measure before the Christmas break as we have only a few weeks left before the start of the campaign,” Zubiri said in a Viber message to reporters Tuesday.

The Congress will be taking its Christmas break starting December 18 until January 16, 2022. -NB, GMA News