OPAPP seeks higher 2021 budget as proposed P19-B fund gets reduced to P700M

Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Head Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr., physically attends Tuesday’s hybrid hearing of the Committee on Finance Subcommittee C September 22, 2020, to present the proposed budget of the agency. Senate PRIB photo / Henz Austria

MANILA, Philippines  — The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Tuesday urged for a higher budget for 2021 after its proposed P19 billion was slashed to only P700 million.

During the Senate finance committee hearing tackling OPAPP’s proposed budget for next year, Presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said that his agency originally proposed P19.4 billion, which will “cover major programs engagement with different former rebel groups.”

“However, in consideration of the COVID-19 crisis, and the directive of [Department of Budget and Management] DBM to assess its 2021 proposal, OPAPP adjusted its proposal which now amounts to P10 billion,” Galvez said.

But as per the DBM recommendation, Galvez added, the National Expenditure Program (NEP) approved by them for 2021 was P700.946 million, or only 3.61 percent of OPAPP’s original proposal of P19.4 billion.

“While the NEP increase is very much appreciated, we are really appealing to pursue the core programs and commitments that the OPAPP has already been made since 2016,” Galvez said during the hearing.

“Please allow me to humbly submit our appeal for the adjusted OPAPP priority funding worth P9.3 billion,” he added.

With the proposed fund, Galvez said, P3.2 billion of it will be for the Bangsamoro normalization program, which will support phase three of the decommissioning of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces.

Under the program, MILF forces will be decommissioned in four phases.

Galvez said that the OPAPP is nearing its target of decommissioning 40,000 MILF forces.

Another P453.297 million of the proposed fund, Galvez said, will be for the support of the peace process with the Moro National Liberation Front.

Also part of the funding will be for the support of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Conduct of Localized Peace Engagements, as well as for the completion of the peace process with Rebolusyonaryong Partidong Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/ Revolutionary Proletarian Army/ Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB).

The fund will also be allocated for the peacebuilding in Marawi,  and for the implementation of the OPAPP’s Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan program (PAMANA) program.

“In conclusion, we therefore respectfully request for the reconsideration and approval of the agency’s proposed budget for 2021 particularly for the normalization amounting to P3.2 million which will support the continuation of decommissioning process and provision of socio-economic assistance and development projects in the most neglected conflict vulnerable communities,” Galvez said.

JPV