No need for additional budget given Duterte's authority to realign –Sotto

There was no need for Malacañang to ask Congress for a supplemental budget to augment funds for the country's COVID-19 response as President Rodrigo Duterte was already given the power to realign the budget under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Sunday.

In a radio interview, Sotto explained that Duterte had the authority to reallocate funds to be used for COVID-19 measures during the lifetime of RA 11469, or the Bayanihan Law.

He said that the law had a "sunset provision," that is, once the COVID-19 crisis was over, it would no longer take effect.

The Bayanihan Law was also only in effect for three months after its enactment, unless extended by Congress.

"Nandoon lahat ang binigay naming power doon sa RA 11469, hindi na kailangan ng supplemental budget. Pwedeng gumalaw, pwedeng galawin ng Pangulo yan," Sotto said.

"Hindi ko maisip ano pa ang hihinging supplemental budget, e pwedeng galawin ng Presidente. Pwedeng galawin, kaya lang syempre ayaw ng Presidenteng galawin yung Build, Build, Build dahil yun ang pinakamabilis na pangrecover din naman ng gobyerno pagkatapos nito," he added.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the government needed authorization from Congress in order to tap more funds for the COVID-19 response.

“May pondo po tayo, ang problema po kinakailangan siguro talagang mag-enact ng supplemental budget ang Kongreso kasi hindi namin magagastos iyong iba pang mga pondo na walang mandato ng ating mga mambabatas," said Roque in a Friday radio interview.

The President's spokesperson was confident that the lawmakers would grant such a request.

But Senator Panfilo Lacson said there was still around P1.3 trillion in unused appropriations from the 2019 budget which could be used to augment funds for the COVID-19 response.

Congress, in a marathon special session on March 23, passed the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which gave Duterte additional powers to effectively respond to the crisis.

Lawmakers then said that P275 billion in off-budget funds could be used to help address the COVID-19 crisis on top of the funds from the 2020 General Appropriations Act that could also be tapped.

Government data showed that P352.7 billion out of the P397 billion available funds had already been spent for COVID-19 response, according to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier said that the funding required to address the COVID-19 crisis had been raised by the government to P1.49 trillion. — DVM, GMA News