By Elijah Felice E. Rosales & Butch Fernandez
THE proposed 2019 national budget has to be approved the soonest, as it covers additional funding for the government’s microfinance program for small businesses, according to the country’s trade chief.
This, as a senior lawmaker on Tuesday also pushed for early passage of the budget, but for another reason: to avert the negative economic implications if the government continues to operate on last year’s budget.
The Duterte administration needs to step up lobbying efforts in Congress to front-load final passage of the P3.7-trillion budget bill within the month, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto.
In a statement, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program has so far served 62,000 borrowers. He claimed the fund could benefit more small enterprises if the national budget for this year is ratified by Congress.
“We have to wait for the 2019 budget approval for the new P1.5-billion fund to cover more borrowers,” Lopez said.
Once the money measure is approved, the P3 program will have a working capital of P3.9 billion. In its accomplishment report, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) claimed P2.4 billion in loans were released from the fund last year.
“We can hit about 80,000 [borrowers] with the current P2-billion funding because we are able to [lend again] the repaid loans, and now total approved loans have been P2.4 billion, coming from a P2-billion funding,” Lopez added.
The government is operating on a reenacted budget, after lawmakers failed to pass the 2019 money measure over a number of reasons, including the late transmittal by the House to the Senate and controversies over alleged insertions made by the Department of Budget and Management in its proposal. Still, Lopez is optimistic “that the budget will be approved soon.”
Increased capital for the P3 program could be crucial with the number of registered enterprises now at 1.39 million in 2018 from 900,000 in 2017, according to figures from the DTI.
The P3 program is the government’s microfinance scheme that allows small businesses to borrow up to P200,000 with a maximum interest rate of 2.5 percent monthly and with no collateral. It is intended to counter the onerous 5-6 lending—valued at about P30 billion by the government—which slaps an interest rate of 20 percent per day, week or month.
‘Only until January’
“THE reenacted budget should only last until January,” Recto said on Tuesday, voicing concern that “it has an effect on the economy.”
At the same time, Recto batted for the restoration of additional funding for health services in this year’s budget.
“We need to increase the budget of the Department of Health,” Recto stressed, even as he noted that the “reason for the cut is its absorptive capacity.”
This developed as Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon also moved for a P24-billion additional allocation in DOH’s 2019 budget to ensure delivery of adequate health services in different parts of the country, including far-flung areas.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, in backing Drilon’s motion to augment funding for DOH services, said the amendment is “very much appreciated.” Ejercito chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography.
Taking the floor during Tuesday’s plenary deliberations, Drilon clarified that his proposed P24-billion additional funding for DOH is “intended to boost this government’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program.”
The Senate is expected to step up and fast-track approval of the 2019 budget bill to cut short the period the Duterte administration would operate on a reenacted 2018 budget.
Upon Senate approval of the money measure, senators and congressmen will still convene a bicameral panel to reconcile conflicting provisions in their separate versions of the budget bill. After this, a conference committee report on the reconciled budget will go back to the two chambers to be separately ratified, paving the way for the new budget’s submission to President Duterte for signing into law.