Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, during one of the joint hearings in the Senate. Screengrab / Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Saturday that he was worried by the lack of details on the proposed P150-billion “Support for Infrastructure Projects and Social Program (SipSP).”
Pimentel said lump sum items give the executive carte blanche authority to spend the money in whatever they want.
He questioned the fund that is lodged under the P588.1-billion unprogrammed funds of the P5.2-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2023.
Aside from SipSP, other items in the unprogrammed funds include the following:
- P5 billion for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program
- P380.6 billion as support to foreign-assisted projects
- P20.69 billion support to government-owned and/or -controlled corporations
- P10 billion capital infusion to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- P18.96 billion for benefits and allowances of healthcare and non-health-care workers
Since the proposed funding is under unprogrammed appropriations, Pimentel is concerned that the government’s only recourse will be to engage in more borrowings.
—MELVIN GASCON
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