The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has so far released a total of P376.6 billion to agencies responding to the health and socioeconomic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the bulk intended for cash aid for poor households.
The latest DBM data showed that as of Aug. 10, the amount already used by agencies for their COVID-19 response had hit P360.1 billion or 96 percent of total releases.
Of the COVID-19 allotments, P266.5 billion came from discontinued programs, activities and projects—P231.3 billion from this year’s budget while P35.3 billion was from last year’s budget.
Another P9.8 billion came from regular agency budgets, of which P9.7 billion had been allotted under the 2020 budget and P187.2 million from the 2019 appropriations.
Some P100.2 billion in COVID-19 funding came from special purpose funds, including this year’s national disaster risk reduction and management fund (P2.2 billion), contingent fund (P553.1 million), miscellaneous personnel benefits fund (P749 million) and unprogrammed appropriations (P96.7 billion).
The Department of Social Welfare and Development, which implemented the social amelioration program, received P200.98 billion or more than half of the releases.
The Department of Finance got P88.1 billion; Department of Health, P48.9 billion; Department of Labor and Employment, P12.6 billion; Department of Agriculture, P11.4 billion; Department of Education, P10.9 billion and Department of National Defense, P1.4 billion.