Senate urges DSWD to release P83 billion of unspent funds

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Monday urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development to expedite the release of P83-billion worth of funds, which remain unspent from allocations in previous budgets under the two Bayanihan laws.

The Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 574, which urges the DSWD to fast-track the release of available funds for victims of calamities and affected workers of the coronavirus pandemic.

The resolution was crafted after senators learned that DSWD has an unused amount of P75 billion from its regular budget and  around P6.7 billion from the allocations set in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the amount of damage to the agriculture sector due to recent typhoons stands at P10 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture.

“Imagine what P83 billion can do. It will be a mere drop in the bucket for the DSWD to provide urgent financial assistance to affected farmers,” he said in his sponsorship speech.

He, likewise, noted how unemployment rates rose to 17.7% because of the pandemic as over seven million Filipinos were rendered unemployed.

“Think of all our public transport drivers, our MSMEs, our service industry workers, who are still struggling and could use some aid. Think  of what P83 billion can do for them,” Zubiri added.

“Here we are, deliberating next year’s national budget, pero iyon pong bilyones na budget ng DSWD for this year, 2020, ni hindi pa nga napakikinabangan ng taumbayan. Napakasayang ng pondo,” he added.

“This resolution is a call to action, to make sure na hindi mauuwi sa wala iyong pinasa nating budget [the budget that was passed will not go to waste],” he further said.

The DSWD should release the unspent funds before the year ends, Zubiri said.

The DSWD earlier defended its unspent funds, saying several factors affected the implementation of their programs, including the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the DSWD explained that the P83 billion in unspent funds from its 2020 budget have been programmed for various programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) for the rest of the year.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic hampered the implementation of its projects, and further compounded by mobility challenges due to guidelines imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and “constraints” on manpower and resources of local government units and other government agencies.

Aside from these factors, DSWD said Commission on Audit (COA) rules, Memorandum of Agreement commitments, counter-checking measures to ensure transparency and accountability; re-bidding difficulties, logistic problems; and community health risks due to the pandemic and recent typhoons also affected the department’s programs.