EVEN after ratification by both congressional chambers of the reconciled version of the national budget for 2019, the word war between House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno continues.
Andaya on Friday said the unpaid contracts for infrastructure projects in 2018 have ballooned to P100 billion, and this allegedly forced some contractors to resort to bribery just to be paid. He said this critically affects the salaries of both government and private employees.
In a statement, the Camarines Sur First District congressman said concerned employees of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) have intimated to him that the payables for 2018 infrastructure projects have risen from P44 billion last November 2018 to more than P100 billion at the end of the year.
“Utang ito ng DBM sa mga government contractors na lumobo nang mahigit sa P100 bilyon sa pagsasara ng taon. Hanggang ngayon, malaki pa ang halagang hindi nababayaran ng DBM sa mga utang na ito [This is DBM’s debt to government contractors, which swelled to more than P100 billion at the end of 2018. Until now, the amount DBM has failed to pay the contractors remains huge],” Andaya explained.
But Diokno said DBM is not aware how Andaya got his figure, noting that the department just released P64 billion for accounts payable of the DPWH.
He refuted Andaya’s new wave of accusations, saying the Duterte administration has the “reputation for honoring its contractual obligations.”
“Unlike in the past, when settlement of APs [accounts payable] takes months, even years, we settle them within reasonable period. That’s the essence of annual cash-based budgeting.
That’s why we are now attracting big, reputable contractors,” Diokno said in a text message to the BusinessMirror.
APs refer to the amount of short-term debt or money owed. In this case, by the government to the contractors for projects completed.
Despite opposition from some lawmakers, the DBM is still pushing for the cash-based budgeting system, which it said will enhance the efficiency of national government disbursements.
Kickbacks?
In his statement late on Friday, Andaya had said this “gargantuan amount of payables” forces DPWH contractors to “cough up kickbacks just to be paid for completed infrastructure projects.”
Andaya quoted his sources as saying the release of payment from the DBM to DPWH varies per engineering district. Some districts were paid 10 percent only, others 30 percent. “Depende sa lagayan. ‘Yung hindi naglalagay [It depends on the bribery—those who don’t pay bribes at all get] zero payment,” the congressman said, claiming that notices of cash allocation were given in lump sum, and discretion was given to regional directors, so some contractors “have to resort to bribery.”
‘Govt, private employees not paid’
DPWH casuals were also not paid their salaries for three months and were only given payment last week, while 99 percent of the contractors were still not paid fully for the completed projects, according to Andaya.
A persistent failure to pay salaries can critically affect the daily lives of these employees and can also prompt some of them to resign and claim constructive dismissal.
“In short, the DBM has resorted to rationing of payments. If there was rice shortage before, now there is cash shortage, thanks to Sec. Diokno,” he added.
The congressman then warned that legitimate contractors might not continue bidding for infrastructure projects due to fears that the government could not pay them on time and might make it to the point that banks will be demanding payments.
“A contractors’ revolt is possible. The Build, Build, Build program may turn out to be Stop, Stop, Stop program, courtesy of Sec. Diokno. Given this scenario, an economic slowdown is imminent,” Andaya added.
Diokno, however, insisted that the DBM has released the equivalent of one fourth of the DPWH’s 2018 budget since the budget is reenacted. “How it will allocate the budget is the agency’s concern—not DBM’s,” he said.
On Thursday, President Duterte also admitted in a speech that the lack of skilled workers is also hampering the government’s massive infrastructure program.
The government has vowed to usher in a golden age of infrastructure as it aims to roll out 75 flagship infrastructure projects under its Build, Build, Build program.
With a report from Bernadette D. Nicolas