The Senate has called on the Executive branch to fast-track the release of funds allotted to different government agencies under the Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan 2) Law, which will lapse on December 19.

This was the senators’ main recommendation summing up their comments and questions on President Rodrigo Duterte’s first monthly report on the implementation of the Bayanihan 2 law.

The senators’ comments and questions were compiled by the office of Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate finance committee and principal sponsor of the Bayanihan 2 bill. Angara’s office provided reporters a copy of the document on Thursday afternoon, October 22.

“We urgently call on the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to immediately issue the necessary Special Allotment Release Orders (SAROs) to all implementing agencies, even pending the issuance of their respective guidelines,” said the senators, as stated in the document from Angara.

They also urged implementing agencies to submit the mandatory budget execution documents as soon as possible, if the funds are to be released to them quickly.

The law mandates government agencies to provide detailed spending plans before funds are released to them.

“Considering that Bayanihan 2 will lapse by December 19, we urgently call on all implementing agencies to fast-track the guidelines for the remaining provisions of the law that have yet to be covered by existing implementing rules and regulations (IRRs),” the senators said.

Of the P140-billion supposed readily available fund for the government’s pandemic response under Bayanihan 2, the senators noted that the DBM had only released P3.545 billion to the following agencies:

• Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
• Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
• Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)

OPAPP Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr is the chief implementer of the government’s National Action Plan against COVID-19.

The senators noted a DBM announcement that it released P4.413 billion of the regular appropriations under Bayanihan 2 to the following agencies:

• DILG, P2.52 billion
• Office of Civil Defense, P855.19 million
• Bureau of the Treasury, P215.48 million
• Department of Foreign Affairs, P820 million

The senators noted that the P4.413 billion only amounted to 3.2% of the total fund under Bayanihan 2.

Some P10 billion allotted by Bayanihan 2 for the tourism industry also has yet to be released by the DBM, said the senators, citing a statement Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat made during her department’s recent budget hearing at the Senate.

Similarly, P24 billion meant for the Department of Agriculture’s Plant, Plant, Plant program remains unreleased, said the senators, citing Agriculture Secretary William Dar. The amount includes direct cash subsidies and no-interest loans for farmers and fisherfolk.

On Thursday, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said P46.2 billion in Bayanihan 2 fund requests were pending at Duterte’s office. Avisado attributed the delay in fund releases to his department’s efforts at judicious spending.

That P46.2 billion was allocated for the following:

• P6 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations
• P8 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay program
• P11.6 billion for the Department of Agriculture’s Plant, Plant, Plant program
• P20.5 billion for pandemic-related efforts of the Department of Health

The amount exceeds 30% of the main P140-billion fund under Bayanihan 2. The measure includes a standby fund of P25.5 billion, depending on the availability of revenues, for a total allocation of up to P165.5 billion.

The senators noted these pending releases in their comments on the President’s report.

Senators seek report on loans and grants to the government

The senators also asked the Executive for detailed updates on all aspects of its response to the pandemic, including the following:

• The distribution of cash subsidies to poor households, displaced transport workers and overseas Filipinos, and delays therein
• Efforts to enhance public healthcare, contact tracing, testing for COVID-19, and hiring of healthcare workers
• Clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine candidates
• Economic recovery programs and financial assistance to MSMEs

“The next report should include information about the loans and grants given to the national government for its COVID-19 response,” the senators added.

The lawmakers also asked the Executive for a report on the accomplishments under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Law (Bayanihan 1) the predecessor of Bayanihan 2. The first Bayanihan law lapsed on June 5, and the last weekly report from the President came in on July 1.

With a roughly 3-month gap between the last Bayanihan 1 report and the first Bayanihan 2, the senators asked the Executive to be filled in. – Rappler.com