Philippine recovery from COVID-19 still 'in limbo,' says Drilon

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday highlighted the importance of correcting the priorities of the 2022 national budget as he asserted that the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is still "in limbo."

At the opening of the Senate plenary debates on the 2022 General Appropriations Bill containing the P5-trillion national budget, Drilon refuted President Rodrigo Duterte’ claim that the country is winning the battle against COVID-19.

He cited the Bloomberg’s recent report that showed the Philippines is still the “worst place to be” amid the pandemic.

“I am happy to hear the President saying we are winning the battle against COVID-19. However, I think it is a bit too early to tell, especially with the recent survey done by Bloomberg [which] showed that the Philippines is the least resilient among those surveyed and therefore, the worst place to be in during the pandemic and. We face a long road to recovery,” he said.

Drilon noted that there are still about 4 million Filipinos who are unemployed and have lost their income and also millions Filipino families who are experiencing involuntary hungers. He also pointed out the "skyrocketing" prices of food, the suffering tourism industry, and the struggling micro, small and medium enterprises that he said are the “backbone of the economy.”

“I think it is difficult to dispute that our country’s recovery is still in limbo. Whatever we have accomplished thus far can be reversed when COVID-19 cases rise again or a more contagious virus enters the country,” he said.

“I am pointing these out to emphasize the importance of the 2022 national budget that we are now considering. The 2022 national budget should provide the much-needed impetus for economic recovery, not because of the election…The 2022 national budget is the key to our recovery,” Drilon added.

Drilon said no sector should be left behind in the 2022 budget but he noted that some industries are “sidelined” in the measure.

Among the programs that were not funded under the budget proposed by the Executive Department are social amelioration, housing, and the tourism sector.

“Kailangan po nating makalaya sa  [We need to free ourselves from] COVID-19, but this cannot happen unless we put the priority correctly in this coming budget,” he emphasized.

He then lauded the Senate finance committee's move to cut the P28-billion budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to P4 billion to augment funds for health-related programs.

While he welcomed the realignment of funds, Drilon said there are other NTF-ELCAC funds spread in other agencies like the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

He also hailed the provision that the Senate panel introduced to the GAB which requires the Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service (PS-DBM) to immediately disburse the funds it holds for various national agencies.

In relation to the issue of the PS-DBM, Drilon raised anew the “practice of parking of funds” in the Philippine International Trading Corporation

“The PITC is holding funds over the years, supposedly for the national government agencies which engaged this GOCC to purchase services and/or projects for them,” he said.

The Senate aims to approve GAB on third and final reading on November 25. —KBK, GMA News