DBM: Housing agency, intelligence funds cannot be compared ‘apples to apples’

MANILA, Philippines — The budget allocation for the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the government’s intelligence and confidential funds cannot be compared like “apples to apples,” the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Thursday.

“Alam niyo po hindi po natin puwede i-compare yan apples to apples kasi iba naman yung purpose nung housing, iba rin naman po yung confidential fund,” DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado in an online Palace briefing.

(We cannot compare it like apples to apples because the housing has a different purpose from the confidential funds.)

Senators expressed dismay over the “meager” P3.9 billion approved budget for DHSUD compared to the P9.3 billion earmarked for the intelligence and confidential funds across the bureaucracy.

Avisado also noted that the DHSUD’s mandate under the law does not include housing production which is covered by the National Housing Authority.

“Housing production is with the National Housing Authority. And the National Housing Authority receives minimal subsidy from the national government because it has its own corporate funds,” Avisado explained.

“So, that’s the reason why there’s not much funds that we can see at the department itself. Because its function is not on housing production,” he added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon questioned the small amount of budget for DHSUD considering there is a “huge backlog” in housing.

/MUF