Citing need for rehab, gov’t mulls over budget hike

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Congress are now mulling over the proposal to augment the proposed national budget for 2014 to accommodate the cost of post-calamity rehabilitation and reconstruction.

According to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, the economic agencies of the government are gathering data to determine the amount needed to rebuild public hospitals, schools, roads, and other infrastructure following the devastation caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda.

The resulting estimate will be used to decide how much the proposed 2014 national budget, originally set at P2.268 trillion, should be.

The DBM is in talks with “Congress on how we can make adjustments in the 2014 budget to accommodate the reconstruction expenses,” Abad Friday told reporters at the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Philippine Economic Society.

The budget originally proposed for 2014 is higher than the P2 trillion set for this year. But Abad said the devastation caused by the calamity would require significant public spending, particularly on infrastructure.

Also, the public roads and buildings to be constructed must be less prone to disasters, he said.

“We have met with people from the DPWH to begin studying how to reconfigure and redesign the construction of schoolhouses, hospitals and other infrastructure in areas vulnerable to disasters,” Abad explained.

The Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) today issued a resolution allowing agencies directly involved in emergency operations to forego competitive bidding in the procurement of goods and services needed for relief and rehabilitation in storm-stricken areas.

Agencies are now allowed to engage in negotiated procurements.

“It was clear to the GPPB that we do not have the luxury of waiting for a couple of months for us to secure goods and services necessary for Yolanda relief efforts,” GPPB Technical Support Office Director Dennis Santiago said in a statement.

Under the system of negotiated procurement, the GPPB said, contracts are awarded to contractors with a track record of technical expertise or efficiency in service delivery.

Procurement activities covered by the resolution are those involving contracts worth at least P500 million. Contracts below that amount are exempted from securing the approval of the GPPB.

In a separate statement, the Bureau of Customs said that relief goods, directed to the national government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development or its accredited organizations, are exempted from taxes and duties.

Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon said the BOC and other concerned government agencies had set up One Stop Shops (OSSs) at entry points in Cebu and Leyte, as well as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, for the speedy processing of documentary requirements and distribution of relief goods.

According to preliminary government estimates, up to 2,500 people lost their lives during the onslaught of the supertyphoon.  Michelle V. Remo