By Bernadette D. Nicolas and Cai U. Ordinario
THE Executive branch is proposing that the budgets of 16 state departments and agencies be cut next year as the government tightens its belt to finance its spending requirements for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the P4.506-trillion proposed 2021 budget submitted by the Executive branch to Congress, the Department of Housing Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) led the list of those facing the biggest budget cuts.
Under the Executive’s proposed 2021 budget, the DHSUD will receive only P632.601 million this year, 29.16 percent down from its budget this year of P893.06 million under the 2020 General Appropriations Act.
Trailing DHSUD is the Department of Budget and Management, which may see its budget drop by 18.15 percent to P1.908 billion next year from P2.331 billion this year.
Also set to suffer a lower budget next year are the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) and the Department of Finance (DOF).
The budget of OMB is being slashed by 18.08 percent to P3.36 billion from P4.1 billion this year.
The DOF has been allocated a lower budget of P17.476 billion for next year, a 12.51-percent decline from this year’s budget of P19.974 billion.
Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado told BusinessMirror that most of the budgets cut are on expenses on travel, conventions, among others, while the budget increases are being proposed to support government’s efforts related to the pandemic.
“Generally, the cuts are in the MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses), especially Travels, Conventions, Seminars etc.; and the increase are all Covid-19 related and to support the economic recovery efforts of the government,” Avisado said in a message.
Budget Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Rolando U. Toledo said the budget increases and decreases were necessary as officials had to “reprioritize the FY 2021 Budget towards containing the spread and mitigating the effects of Covid-19 virus, restarting the economy to be able to create jobs and attract investments and transitioning to the ‘new normal’ environment post pandemic.”
The goal, Toledo told the BusinessMirror, “is to save lives and protect communities while making the different sectors of the economy stronger and more agile.”
Other departments and agencies which may have to deal with budget cuts next year are Presidential Communications Operations Office with a drop of 9.67 percent), National Economic and Development Authority (-9.48 percent), Department of Foreign Affairs (-9.33 percent), House of Representatives (-8.71%), Department of Energy (-8.02 percent), Department of Agrarian Reform (-7.09 percent), Commission on Human Rights (-6.54 percent), (Department of Tourism (-5.33 percent), Office of the Vice President (-3.99 percent), Department of Trade and Industry (-3.57 percent), Department of Information and Communications Technology (-3.66 percent), and Office of the President (-0.14 percent).
Comelec budget up
On the other hand, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) topped the list of agencies with the biggest budget increases.
Recognizing Comelec’s need to prepare for the 2022 elections, the Executive proposed a P14.565-billion budget for it next year, more than a three-fold increase from its budget this year of P4.043 billion.
The Department of Labor and Employment is also eyed to get 53.74 percent more than the amount it received this year. From only P17.9 billion this year, it will get P27.53 billion for 2021.
Following DOLE is the Department of Transportation, seen to receive P143.562 billion, a 42.64-percent surge from the P100.65 billion it received this year.
Amid the pandemic, the Executive is also eyeing a bigger allocation next year for the Department of Health at P131.72 billion from P104.49 billion in 2020, reflecting an increase of 26.06 percent.
Aside from DOH, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is also set to benefit from the proposed 16.41-percent budget increase to P23.89 billion next year from P20.52 billion this year.
As one of the government’s main infrastructure agencies, the Department of Public Works and Highways is also a step closer to receiving P667.32 billion this year, a 14.72-percent hike from its budget this year of P581.67 billion.
Data also showed DSWD’s proposed budget increased 4.38 percent to P171.22 billion in 2021 from P164.02 billion in 2020.
The DSWD is the primary agency tasked to finance the social programs of the government, including the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
The DND, meanwhile, saw its budget increase by 8.85 percent to P209.05 billion in 2021 from P192.06 billion in 2020. The services of the military personnel have been used to man checkpints, particularly during the lockdowns.
The data also showed the DA budget saw an increase of 2.64 percent. The proposed budget of the government reached P66.38 billion in 2021 from P64.66 billion in 2020.
The DA is tasked to help boost farmers incomes. The Agriculture sector is one of the “bright spots” of the economy during the pandemic.
Other departments/agencies lined up for budget increases are the Department of Education (+9.43 percent), Department of National Defense (+8.85 percent), State Universities and Colleges (+7.71 percent), The Judiciary (+5.6 percent), Department of Social Welfare and Development (+4.38 percent), Commission on Audit (+3.68 percent), Department of Agriculture (+2.64 percent), Department of Justice (+2.63 percent), Department of Interior and Local Government (+1.88 percent) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (+0.37 percent).
The proposed budget for next year is nearly 10 percent higher compared to the P4.1-trillion national budget this year. The proposed 2021 budget is also equivalent to 21.8 percent of the country’s GDP.
Housing gap
Meanwhile, the lower outlay for the shelter sector is deemed insufficient.
“The budget for 2021 is not enough for us to accomplish our mandate of addressing the housing gap. However, we understand that the national government needs to prioritize responses to contain COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently steer our country to immediate recovery,” DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario told BusinessMirror.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and its attached agencies saw a near double-digit decline in its 2021 budget.
Data obtained from the National Expenditure Program (NEP), NEDA’s budget reached P10.98 billion in 2021, a 9.48 percent decrease from the P12.13 billion this year.
Other agencies that suffered budget cuts included the Department of Tourism (DOT), which has been badly affected by the pandemic, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which is helping small and medium enterprises.
The DOT’s budget for 2021 contracted 5.33 percent while the DTI budget declined by 3.57 percent next year. For 2021, DOT’s budget will only reach P3.84 billion from P4.06 billion in 2020 while DTI’s budget will reach P20.59 billion from P21.36 billion.
3-pronged recovery plan
Earlier, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the government’s recovery plan consists of the Bayanihan 2; Build, Build, Build; and the 2021 proposed national budget.
Chua said the lockdown and the low confidence of Filipinos in recent months has caused transportation to decline by 60 percent; people going to work by 40 percent; and basic shopping by 30 percent.
Neda Undersecretary for Planning and Policy Rosemarie G. Edillon said the government is already working on the Recharge PH and that Filipinos do not need to worry in case these economic bills are not passed.
Recharge PH seeks to refocus, sharpen the design and accelerate the implementation of programs under the 2020 General Appropriations to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and help get the Philippine economy recover from the sharp decline in the second quarter of the year.
Recharge PH builds on the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolutions Technical Working Group for Anticipatory and Forward Planning, also led by Neda, which produced the We Recover as One report containing the initial assessment of the socioeconomic impact of Covid-19.
Recharge PH is to be implemented within 2020 and into 2021 and will be incorporated in the Updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.