DBM: COVID-19 releases reach P389 billion

FILE PHOTO — Quezon City residents queue at the Corazon Aquino Elementary School in Quezon City on May 4, 2020 to receive the social amelioration package from the government. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — The government has so far released over P389 billion in funds for its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Tuesday.

According to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, a total of P389.06 billion have been released to various government agencies for their pandemic response efforts as of August 28.

“Ang karamihan po sa COVID-19 budget ay napunta po sa mga programang nagbibigay tulong sa ating (the bulk of the COVID-19 budget went to programs that give aid to our) low-income households, displaced formal and informal workers, distressed overseas Filipino workers and affected farmers and fisherfolks,” Avisado said in a televised Palace press briefing.

The bulk or P266.53 billion of the total releases was sourced from discontinued programs, activities, and projects in the 2019 and 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Around P102.06 billion came from special-purpose funds, while another P20.48 billion was sourced from regular agency budgets.

The Budget chief noted that the government was able to shore up funds through the now-expired Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, which gave President Duterte the power to discontinue programs in the 2019 and 2020 GAA to generate savings for COVID-19 response.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) received the biggest allocation with P211.60 billion due to the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) which provides low-income households two-month cash assistance to help tide them over the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown.

So far, 95 percent of the beneficiaries have already received the second tranche of the  SAP, the DSWD earlier reported.

There are currently 220,819 confirmed coronavirus infections in the country as of Monday. Of the total, 157,562 have recovered while 3,558 died.

CFC