P4.5-T budget for 2021 seen ready next week

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will submit to Congress next week the proposed P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget, with more money to finance government efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado said.

However, Avisado declined to say the exact date when the budget proposal would be officially pitched to the Lower House. The DBM has 30 days since Congress resumed session last July 27 to submit next year’s spending plan.

Avisado said the details of the proposed 2021 budget—including the total amount to be set aside for COVID-19-related programs, activities and projects—would be disclosed upon submission to Congress.

Avisado earlier said next year’s budget would prioritize programs and projects addressing the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 disease while “digitalizing” more government transactions.

Also, Avisado said the bulk of next year’s appropriations would be reprioritized toward saving lives and protecting communities from the deadly virus, while making the economy stronger and more agile.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III had said the free vaccine for the 20 million poorest Filipinos would be covered by the government through next year’s budget.

Economic managers earlier said the 2021 budget formed part of the COVID-19 recovery stage and would include as many areas not covered this year, citing bigger infrastructure expenditures, which had taken a backseat to COVID-19 response.

Some P377 billion had been released by the DBM to agencies responding to the health and socioeconomic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the bulk intended for doleouts to poor households.

The latest DBM data showed that as of Aug. 10, cash allocation or the amount already used by agencies for their COVID-19 response amounted to P360.1 billion or 96 percent of releases.

Of the COVID-19 allotments, P266.5 billion came from discontinued programs, activities and projects—P231.3 billion from this year’s national budget, on top of P35.3 billion from last year’s budget.

Another P9.8 billion in funds were released from regular agency budgets, of which P9.7 billion had been allotted under the 2020 budget, while P187.2 million were from the 2019 appropriations.

Also, P100.2 billion in COVID-19 funds were sourced 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 (749 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 COVID-19-related releases, of which P200.95 billion were cash allocation.

The releases to the different departments were: finance, P88.1 billion; health, P48.9 billion; labor and employment, P12.6 billion; agriculture, P11.4 billion; education, P10.9 billion; national defense, P1.4 billion; public works and highways, P842.7 million; interior and local government, P747.9 million; trade and industry, P203 million; science and technology, P53.2 million; foreign affairs, P5.1 million; the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, P500,000, and state universities and colleges (SUCs), specifically the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, P400 million.