By Samuel P. Medenilla & Cai U. Ordinario
MALACAÑANG on Thursday gave assurances the government will still release the P84 billion which is currently being withheld by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), subject to the necessary “protocol.”
In a press briefing, Presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo confirmed the statement of Sen. Panfilo Lacson that the portion of the P4.1-trillion 2020 budget is currently on hold.
“I talked with the Budget Secretary [Wendel Avisado]…he told me about it, he said that the P84 billion will not be released immediately but depending on the need for the release, thereof. In other words, there will be a process,” Panelo said.
Lacson said the concerned amount was realigned from the 2020 budget of the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure centerpiece program by some lawmakers to fund their “pet projects” in their respective districts.
DBM reviews ‘realignments’
The DBM said it will first evaluate the “realignments” made by Congress to the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA) before the funds can be released.
In a statement, DBM said given that the additional budgetary items “did
not undergo the usual budget evaluation process,” these will be subjected to
documentation requirements prior to the President’s
approval.
“This shall ensure that government funds shall be made available only for projects which are implementation-ready for the year and aligned with government priorities,” DBM said.
DBM Undersecretary Laura Pascua told BusinessMirror that this is part of the agency’s process when dealing with “conditional veto” when it comes to certain items in the GAA.