DBM, House OK ‘transitory cash-based’ spending deal

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the House of Representatives have agreed to a “transitory cash-based system” in spending the P3.76-trillion proposed budget for next year, Malacañang confirmed Thursday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the DBM gave the information after a meeting with lawmakers earlier this week in Malacañang.

“Under this system, the government would have 12 months to obligate and 18 months to disburse its budget,” Roque said in a statement.

The DBM, he said, will disclose the full details of the new system in “due time.”

Passed on time

“We expect the national budget to be passed on time and signed by the President before the end of the year,” he said.

Roque confirmed the statement of House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya on Tuesday that Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno had agreed to let state agencies continue with the “hybrid” budgeting for three years before adopting the cash-based system that he had defended.

Earlier, Diokno said the executive was ready for a reenacted 2018 budget if the congressmen would insist on an obligation-based budget for 2019.

‘Non-negotiable’

Diokno said the cash-based system used by the DBM on the 2019 budget was “non-negotiable.”

The House, however, stood firm on the obligations-based system, saying application of the cash-based method would lead to budget cuts for agencies undertaking the administration’s infrastructure program.

House leaders met with President Rodrigo Duterte, who promised to talk to Diokno about a compromise. —CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO