NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur, Philippines — A “miracle happened” in between the budget process.
House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. alleged this on Thursday, saying the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) “inserted” more than P14.5-billion of “unprogrammed funds” into the National Expenditure Program (NEP) after it was presented to President Rodrigo Duterte for his approval.
Andaya said of the total P119 billion Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) fund for flood-control projects, more than P14.5 billion were unprogrammed and were designated to areas that are not prone to flooding. The P14.5-billion was part of the P75 billion “insertions” in this year’s expenditure program, he added.
READ: Andaya says Diokno behind P75-B insertion in DPWH budget | Infra ‘insertions’ in 2019 budget P75B, not P51.8B — Diokno
“Ang nakapagtataka pa, sa P119 bilyon na budget para sa DPWH flood control projects for 2019, mahigit P14.5 bilyon ay hindi galing sa regular programming ng DPWH,” the Camarines Sur 2nd District congressman said.
“Idinagdag lamang ang P14.5 billion insertions for flood control nang ipi-print na ng DBM ang National Expenditure Program na ipapadala sa Kongreso. Adjustment man o insertion kung tawagin, malinaw na ang inserted P14.5-billion for flood control pati ang iba pang inserted infra projects ng DPWH ay hindi kabilang sa NEP na ipinakita ni Sec. Diokno kay Pangulong Duterte at sa mga miyembro ng Gabinete,” he added.
Instead of placing the P14.5 billion– which Diokno refers to as “adjustment”– to priority projects, Andaya said this was allocated to flood-control projects “na madaling madaya.”
“Between Step 16 and Step 17, a miracle happened. Lo and behold, the budget of the DPWH suddenly ballooned from P480 billion to P555 billion. An insertion or adjustment of P75 billion, which Sec. Diokno acknowledged was his decision when queried during the congressional Question Hour,” he said.
Step 16 of the budget process is “Presentation to the President and the Cabinet of the Calendar Year 2019 Proposed Budget Levels of Department/Agency/Special Purpose Funds” while step 17 is “Finalization of the National Expenditure Program, Budget Expenditures and Sources of Financing Tables, Staffing Summary, Budget Message.”
“Malinaw nating naipakita na si Sec. Diokno—hindi si Pangulong Duterte o Sec. Villar – ang utak sa P75 billion insertion. Malinaw din ang buong pangyayari, P14.5 billion sa insertions na ito ay ibinuhos ni Sec. Diokno sa flood control projects. Hindi sa priority projects ng DPWH, kundi sa flood control projects,” Andaya added.
‘DBM huge allocations not in flood-prone areas’
What’s worse, Andaya alleged, is that these multi-billion allocations were not designated to flood-prone areas as identified by the World Bank Study on Reducing Vulnerability to Flooding in Metro Manila; the JICA Study on the Nationwide Flood Risk Assessment and Flood Mitigation Plan for Selected Areas in the Republic of the Philippines; and the hazard maps prepared by Project Noah.
“Hindi sinusunod ang mga guidelines at procedures sa pag-identify at pagpondo ng mga DPWH flood control projects. Naglalabas ang DBM ng bilyon-bilyon pisong pondo na labag sa rules and regulations mismo ng DPWH,” Andaya said. /muf
READ: Andaya: Flooded Matnog town has zero budget for flood control in 2019
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