House to probe use of Bayanihan funds

MANILA, Philippines — The House appropriations committee chair, Rep. Eric Yap, on Sunday said he received reports of irregularities in the spending of funds appropriated under two laws meant to spell out the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the things we will look into is how the funds under Bayanihan 1 and 2 were spent, particularly [in] agencies where we received a lot of reports about irregularities,” Yap said in a statement. He did not elaborate.

“If we uncover proof of corruption and irregularities, heads should roll,” he warned. “This is [consistent] with President Duterte’s directive to further intensify the anticorruption efforts in the government. No one is untouchable. We will examine how each agency spent the money of the people.”

Under Bayanihan 1, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the government realigned P275 billion from the 2020 national budget for the administration’s pandemic response while P165.5 billion was allotted under the Bayanihan 2, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.