HOUSE BUDGET DELIBERATIONS

Quimbo says COVID-19 response allocation in 2022 budget insufficient

Marikina City Representative Stella Quimbo on Tuesday questioned what she said was a meager budget allotted for COVID-19 response under the 2022 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Citing the GAB from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Quimbo noted that only P350.223 billion is allocated for COVID-19 response efforts for health and non-health. This is equivalent to only 6.72% of the proposed P5.204-trillion budget for 2022, and is only 1.95% of the 2020 gross domestic product (GDP).

“The GAB 2022 in its current form does not constitute a sufficient COVID response,” Quimbo said during the deliberations with the sponsor, Albay Representative Joey Salceda.

“Walang budget para sa medicine kits, walang budget para sa COVID patients na naka-homecare, walang budget para sa SRA (special risk allowance) ng frontliners, walang budget para sa bakuna,” she said.

“Wala ring budget para sa contact tracing, hindi rin maliwanag kung sapat ang ayuda. Compared to the other ASEAN countries maliit ang ating proposed COVID response relative to GDP.” 

Out of the COVID response funds for 2022, the largest allocations were for the Departments of Transportation (DOTr) with P127.208 billion, Education (DepEd) with P99.196 billion, Health (DOH) with P48.441 billion, and Labor and Employment (DOLE) with P33.629 billion.

'Drop in a bucket'

According to Quimbo, the DOH's P48 billion allotted for COVID-19 response, which does not include  the P45 billion for booster shots, seems paltry.

"It's not even 1% of the P5.024 trillion proposed national budget," she said.

"Hindi po ba kulang na kulang ang P48 billion na COVID response for one entire year 2022? Kung matatandaan natin, under Bayanihan 1 and 2, we spent a total of P536.4 billion," she added.

"Kitang-kita po natin na 'yung P48 billion na proposed for the 2022 for health response is a very small amount, a drop in the bucket. Wala po bang proposal ang DBCC to amend the GAB 2022 for a more sufficient health response?"

Delta not considered

In response, Salceda admitted that the budget was crafted at a time when the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus was not yet detected in the country.

"When this budget was crafted there was no Delta. Delta appeared some time in April right in the middle of the second wave. Obviously the budget was crafted without the bigger wave," Salceda said.

The Bicolano lawmaker also said amendments could be made in the budget.

"I'd rather recast the budget. There are items immediately that could be shifted or to augment the health response budget to COVID in 2022," Salceda added.

In response, Quimbo said she is not in favor of recasting the budget, noting that some allocations in other projects should be slashed.

"Pagpasensyahan niyo na po, hindi muna ako sasang-ayon doon sa ganyang panukala na i-recast lang po ang ating budget kasi tatandaan po natin, ang magiging trabaho po ng Congress ngayon ay dagdag-bawas... P5.024 trillion pa rin 'yan so kung may panukala tayong dagdagan ang health response sa GAB 2022, kailangan nating magbawas sa iba," she said.

Health is wealth

Salceda said the general principle of the proposed budget is acknowledging that health is wealth.

"What's the general principle of this budget? I'll tell you simply, health is wealth, there's no trade off. There will be no wealth if there's no health," he said.

Moving forward, Quimbo said she will file proposals to amend the allocations to ensure that the proper agencies are given the funds they need to combat the pandemic, which the country expects to battle in the next two years.

In the same deliberations, it was found that there are still 38.65% trillion worth of unobligated funds in the national budget six months into the year, amid the country’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citing the latest data available, Salceda said some P1.7 trillion of the budget remains unobligated as of June 30, 2021, the latest data as figures are released on a quarterly basis.

The unobligated funds include P583 billion in procurement services, and P248 billion in capital outlays.  —KBK, GMA News