Lacson seeks to realign P4-billion unitemized aid for LGUs

Sen. Panfilo Lacson (File photo by Cathy Miranda / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson sought on Tuesday the realignment of an unitemized P4-billion allocation for the financial assistance for local government units (LGUs).

During the Senate deliberations on the proposed P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020, Lacson raised the possibility that the P4-billion allocation could be in the form of a lump-sum fund.

The allocation will be handled by the Department of Budget Management (DBM) and implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Lacson noted.

The senator pointed out that the DBM only ordered the submission of the list of beneficiary LGUs months after the 2019 budget was enacted.

“How could they [DILG] implement that if they don’t have a list. In other words, these are lump-sum appropriations,” Lacson said.

“You know, I took the word of DBM, through the sponsor, of course — Senator [Loren] Legarda,” he added. “She said: ‘No, there’s a list. Okay, I’ll take your word for it. I won’t even take a look at the list. But as it turned out, there’s a circular from the DBM, issued on July 15, 2019. A list was only submitted a year after we deliberated.”

“So, I was duped,” he added.

Lacson said he would not want a repeat of what happened.

“Meron akong professor no’n sa Command and General Staff Course, naging army commanding general, si General Yap. Sabi niya: ‘Tandaan ninyo ito. Kung kayo natapilok sa bato nang dalawang beses, ang tawag sa inyo hindi tanga, ugok. So, I just don’t want a repetition of what happened last year,” Lacson said.

“I had a professor before in the Command and General Staff Course, who became an Army commanding general, General Yap. He told us: ‘Remember this. If you trip on a rock twice, you’re not a fool. You’re stupid.’ So, I just don’t want a repetition of what happened last year,” he went on.

He was apparently referring to Lt. Gen. Romulo Yap, who was Army chief during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos.

“We haven’t gotten to the period of amendments yet,” Lacson said. “Maybe if it’s not needed, we’ll remove it… It may turn out to be lump sum. It will not be used. Maybe we can set it aside and realign it to worthwhile PAPs,” Lacson said.

PAPs refer to Programs, Activities, and Projects.

Sen. Sonny Angara, who defended the proposed budget on the floor, welcomed Lacson’s suggestion.

/atm