The legislative arm of government has been clamoring for the timely and efficient release of funds meant for pandemic response. This has been an ongoing plea since October of last year, but it seems that the senators’ cries have fallen on deaf ears as the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), who earmarked more than P160 billion “for later release” (FLR)—much to the chagrin of legislators and citizens alike—has decided to withhold the fund with no plausible explanation.
In a recent broadcast interview, DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado said of the FLRs, and I quote, “Idadaan lahat yan sa Office of the President, kasi siya ’yung may final approval.[Everything must pass through the Office of the President because he has final approval.]” This is in and of itself already incredibly perplexing, since it is unheard of for the Chief Executive to hold the funds of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) while waiting for “documents and submissions.” Isn’t it the mandate of the DBM to manage the budget?
Even a mere perfunctory review of Avisado’s statements to the press regarding public expenditures shows someone who is not actually on top of the budget. This is quite alarming—knowing that, due to the pandemic, the Philippines has much more than money at stake here. For example, the DBM Secretary said on June 5 that the government will have to spend beyond its original allocated budget of P82.5 billion for Covid-19 vaccines this year. They had to tap into the contingency fund allocated in the 2021 National Budget, he said, so that the Department of Health (DOH) would be able to pay for a measly 4 million doses of vaccines for public inoculation.
Then, not two weeks later, Avisado said that almost a fourth of the pandemic funds remained undisbursed. This does not inspire a lot of confidence that the national budget, signed into law by the President himself, is intact. If put in the private-sector perspective, this means that, if any Finance Department head or accountant dipped into the contingency funds of a company, then revealed that a fourth of the allocated budget was still available afterwards, it would not only raise a red flag, but it would also result in that person’s termination for negligence of duty.
Furthermore, it is curious that somehow the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was able to have its FLR funds amended by the DBM and its funds released on schedule, according to a January 5, 2021 budget circular. All it took for the DBM to approve this amendment and return Secretary Mark Villar’s budget was…well, we don’t quite know because the annex that the amendment was hinged on was not included in the budget circulars that are publicly available.
Among those who raised concerns about the issue was Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon who pointed out that FLRs may be released by the DBM Secretary “or any other official acting on the authority of the President.” Why then has Avisado been foisting the delay on the Office of the President when he is clearly in authority to allow disbursements?
Usually when following paper trails, credentials play an important role in determining where the breakdown lies. According to the Philippine News Agency, Secretary Avisado previously served as Presidential Assistant for Special Concerns to oversee the rehabilitation of areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Although Yolanda hit the country in 2013, there remain unliquidated funds as late as June 2020. From 2000 to 2015, Avisado was also Deputy Secretary General for the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, the umbrella agency where the Social Housing Finance Corp. belongs. In 2014, the Commission on Audit tagged SHFC for payroll irregularities. The most interesting perhaps of Avisado’s former appointments is his being the City Administrator of Davao City when President Duterte was its mayor. The PNA also cited Avisado as an active member of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and waxed on his accomplishments in that allegedly problematic organization.
It behooves me to say that Avisado does not seem to have a solid track record in fiscal management, and this leads to even more questions.
Notwithstanding all this finger-pointing, people are still suffering—financially, physically, and emotionally—from the consequences of Covid-19. If Avisado’s blame claim is indeed true, then why is the OP still not releasing the funds that can help bankroll critical government programs? Whether it is the DBM or the OP’s responsibility, the Filipino people need the government funds released now—not later—before more lives are sacrificed to Covid and government inaction.
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