DBM not keen on seeking supplemental budget for COVID-19 response yet

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday said it is not yet planning to seek a supplemental budget from Congress for the government’s COVID-19 response since no funding sources have been identified yet.

“Sa ngayon po, hindi po natin pwede gawin yan dahil ang requirement po ng supplemental budget ay meron tayong new source of revenues or taxes at pangalawa, kung merong excess sa collection natin. In both cases, wala po,” DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado said in an online Palace briefing.

(For now, we cannot do that since a requirement for a supplemental budget is that we have a new source of revenues or taxes and second, we have excess in our collection. In both cases, there is none.)

“So wala pong pagbabasehan ang ating pinagiisipang supplemental budget. It’s really a combination of kung ano pa yung mga monetary and fiscal policies na pwedeng gawin ng gobyerno,” he added.

(There will be no basis for a proposed supplemental budget. It’s really a combination of the monetary and fiscal policies that can be done by the government.)

Earlier, Malacañang said it is still undecided whether it will ask Congress for a supplemental budget for the government’s COVID-19 response.

As of Thursday, Avisado said the DBM released P353.8 billion to government agencies and departments to support its programs related to COVID-19.

“This was made possible by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which authorized the President to realign, reallocate and reprogram both the 2019 and the 2020 budgets,” Avisado said.

Of the total amount, Avisado said P246 billion were sourced from pooled savings, P96 billion from unprogrammed appropriations and P10 billion from reprogramming of existing programs, activities, and projects.

EDV