As cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country reached 33, the House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday approved a bill appropriating P1.65-billion supplemental budget to combat the sickness.
The approved amount is lower than the P2-billion supplementary budget bills filed by House Committee on Health Chairman Rep. Angelina Tan and House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Joey S. Salceda.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rep. Eric Go Yap would ask President Duterte to certify as urgent the supplemental budget bill.
Cayetano also said the lower chamber is also ready to hold special sessions to approve the supplemental budget bill. Congress is set to adjourn for its Lenten break on Wednesday and will resume on May 4.
During the hearing of the appropriations committee, Deputy Treasurer Sharon Almanza said the Bureau of the Treasury has only P1.65 billion in excess funds.
According to Almanza, the bureau is now coordinating with the Department of Finance for faster release of the fund.
The P1.65-billion fund is also less than the P3.1 billion that the Department of Health (DOH) needs to purchase personnel protective equipment for its 5,000 health workers.
However, Health Undersecretary Roger Tong-an said the DOH could source the remaining needed funds from Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), as well as from the DOH’s quick response fund and savings.
Tong-an said the DOH could source P2 billion from Pagcor, P539 million from DOH savings, P81 million from DOH’s quick response fund and P420 million from the PCSO.
According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, one set of protective gear is worth P1,500 for 5,000 health workers, working three shifts, for 90 days.
Budget Undersecretary Janet Abuel also told lawmakers the government could also source fund from P13-billion contingency funds and P7.5-billion national disaster risk reduction and management fund.
Congress mandates the DOH to submit its report giving a detailed account of the utilization of the supplemental budget provided under the supplementary budget bill.
The DOH has also placed the country under Covid-19 Alert System to Code Red Sub-Level 1 to prepare for a possible increase in suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
With this, President Duterte has issued a proclamation formally declaring a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines following the reported first local transmission of Covid-19.
The President also ordered the suspension of all classes in Metro Manila to minimize the risk of contracting the disease.
No need
House Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Isagani Zarate said there is no need to pass a supplemental budget, saying there are available funds to address the threat of Covid-19 spread.
“There is an available budget for this that can be tapped in the contingency funds and that now at least have P29 billion aggregate that is not properly utilized. In fact there is no need for the P2-billion supplemental budget to combat COVID-19, all the government has to do is properly use the contingency funds,” Zarate said.
“As can be seen, we have enough funds to combat COVID-19 and they are already available, in fact, there is no need for a supplemental budget. While more cases of COVID-19 are being reported, it is still uncertain if the government has prepared any social assistance to patients coming from poor sectors, especially from the rural areas and they should be prepared now. Dillydallying is inexcusable because lives are at stake here,” added Zarate.
Meanwhile, Zarate urged the government to prepare its support program for possible COVID-19 outbreak in the barrios nationwide.
“Now that there are already 24 [33 actually as of this writing as reported by DOH] cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines and classes on all levels have been canceled from March 10 to 14 in the National Capital Region, the demand for a support program for possible outbreak in barrios and urban poor areas is legitimate,” said the deputy minority leader.