Risa wants P16.4-B anti-insurgency budget realigned to DOH amid COVID-19

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday said the proposed P16.4 billion budget for the anti-insurgency "Support to the Barangay Development Program" should be realigned to the health department amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a Senate budget hearing, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano reiterated his position that the proposed fund for the the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will be used to assist 822 insurgency-cleared barangays and would not be taken advantage of for the 2022 elections.

"'Yung [list ng] barangays dumating sa NTF-ELCAC through the validation. Wala pong say ang NTF-ELCAC kung anong barangay ang aalisin at pipiliin. Wala ring pondong maiiwan sa NTF-ELCAC. Lahat po ay direktang ire-release sa LGU (local government unit)," he said.

"The NTF-ELCAC siguro po masyadong na-overstated lang po but it is just a coordination converging body po," he added.

Hontiveros, an opposition senator, was not convinced and said existing line agencies could implement the projects intended for these barangays.

"Sorry ha, hindi lang overstated, overfunded. Kasi sabi niyo coordinative body lamang pero may P16 billion. Feeling ko parang hindi lang siya miscast, surplasage siya, para siyang sumisingit lang sa eksena," she said.

She added that the government should not have given the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) a budget cut if it was sincere in addressing insurgency.

"Why was the fund of the OPAPP slashed from P19 billion to P700 million? Budget po iyan ng isang ahensya na may aktwal na mandato para i-address ang insurgency," Hontiveros said.

The senator said she would rather have these funds earmarked for the construction of more rural health units and establishment of epidemiological surveillance units of the Department of Health (DOH).

She said the DOH's Health Facilities Enhancement Program was only given P4.7 billion for next year while the budget allocated to strengthen epidemiological surveillance was only P112 million.

"At the proper time, I'll be making a formal motion to realign the P16.4 billion funds to the HFEP (Health Facilities Enhancement Program) and the Epidemiological Surveillance Units," Hontiveros said.

The P16.4 billion in question was lodged under the Allocations to Local Government Units in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2021.

Each cleared barangay shall be allocated with a maximum amount of P20 million to be used for the projects such as farm-to-market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation system, health stations, and electrification, among others.

The fund may also be used for medical, burial, transportation, food, and educational assistance.

"Release of funds shall be subject to the guidelines to be issued by the NTF-ELCAC, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management," read the special provision in the NEP. -NB, GMA News