Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon. (Photo from a Senate video)
MANILA, Philippines — Politics, and the upcoming national elections could be behind the non-release of some P160 billion “For Later Release” (FLR) funds that are intended to fund social amelioration and economic stimulus projects amid the pandemic, Senator Franklin Drilon said Sunday.
“With the 2022 election less than 10 months away, politics is a consideration in the non-release of the P160 billion FLR budget items,” Drilon said.
“This is lamentable because these funds are needed by our people who need assistance due to the pandemic. Government projects and programs designed to stimulate and expand the economy are not being implemented,” added Drlion in a statement.
Drilon also asked why the national government had failed to use the P160 billion FLR funds when P16.5 billion in counter-insurgency funds were distributed in the first quarter.
“Clearly, the priorities in the release of the funds are flawed,” he said.
“Note that 20 percent of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) is attributable to government spending. The execution of laws, which includes the release of funds in the budget, is a prerogative of the President under the Constitution,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senator Ralph Recto and chair of the Senate finance committee, and Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara echoed Drilon’s sentiments on the FLR funds.
“It’s a wasted opportunity to help create jobs and grow the economy. There seems to be no sense of urgency,” said Recto.
Angara added that there have also been complaints about the “selectiveness of releases.”
“Ang reklamo nga nung iba bakit pagdating dito sa mga pinasa ng kongreso, bakit yung iba, namimili ba kung anong i-release dito or hindi,” Angara said in an interview over dzBB.
(Some are complaining that when it comes to the congressional passes, why are the others choosing over what to release or not?)
“So sana especially now, kelangan talaga yan lahat ng mga programang yan ay may tinatawag na stimulus effect (So especially now, all those programs really need to have a so-called stimulus effect),” he added.
He cited the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), which he said were both designed to provide a stimulus to the economy.
However, the Bayanihan 2 law expired with billions (reportedly P18.6 billion) in allocations remaining unspent. Which left a number of critical pandemic response programs unfunded: P6.6 billion for laboratory testing service and hiring of health workers; P4.6 billion for digital learning resources and student subsidies and P4.6 billion for service contracts for public transport workers.
“Dito sa usapin ng budget sana magtulungan. At tayo, ginagawa natin ang lahat para matulungan po ang ehekutibo, especially sa pagpasa ng Bayanihan 2, pagpasa ng Vaccination Act of 2021,” Angara said.
(Here in the matter of the budget, I hope we can work together. We are doing everything to help the Executive, especially with the passage of Bayanihan 2 and the Vaccination Act of 2021)
Inquirer.net has reached out to the Department of Budget and Management but has yet to reply as of writing.
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