Lagman says Duterte’s report to Congress is just ‘perfunctory compliance’

MANILA, Philippines — A “perfunctory compliance.”

This was how Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman described the report submitted by President Rodrigo Duterte to Congress on Tuesday in compliance with Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which granted Duterte additional powers to address the coronavirus pandemic.

Section 5 of the measure states that Duterte, during Monday of every week, shall submit a weekly report to Congress “of all acts performed pursuant to this Act.”

But for Lagman, the report that Duterte submitted only contained “mere reiteration” of the actions that were already done by the government even before R.A. 11469 was signed.

“There is no disclosure of the specific funds in the 2019 General Appropriations Act and 2020 General Appropriations Act which are projected to be discontinued, reprogrammed, reallocated, or realigned to address the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lagman said in a statement.

“There is no validation of the social/labor amelioration benefits which have been actually received by intended beneficiaries nationwide,” the lawmaker added.

Further, Lagman added that the amount of funds already disbursed or projected to be disbursed for health equipment and supplies was not disclosed in the report.

“There is also no report on the donations, both local and foreign, which are to be facilitated and prioritized pursuant to Sec. 4(j) of the Act,” Lagman said.

The Department of Health (DOH) said there are 1,546 cases of COVID-19 in the country as of Monday afternoon. The DOH said  78 patients have so far died of the coronavirus infection while 42 patients have recovered.

/MUF