Funds released under Bayanihan 2 still short of target amount

With less than a week before the Bayanihan to Recover as One Law (Bayanihan 2) expires, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released just P105.8 billion of agency funds set aside under the stimulus package to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DBM data made available on Monday showed relea­ses as of Dec. 11 remained short of the P165.5 billion in additional COVID-19 response funds. Congress is now scrambling to extend the validity of Bayanihan 2 budget items until June next year.

Agencies were reportedly slow or have to contend with various requirements before sending to the DBM for action.

Signed by President Duterte in September, the Bayanihan 2 Law will lapse on Dec. 19.

The funds released under Bayanihan 2 include: P21.8 billion to the Department of Health; P6 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); P16.4 billion to the Department of Labor and Employment and P11.6 billion to the Department of Finance.

Other agencies which have received funds under Bayanihan 2 included the Department of Agriculture, P23.3 billion; the Department of the Interior and Local Government, P3.6 billion; the Department of National Defense, P1.3 billion; the Department of Education, P4 billion; the Commission on Higher Education, P3.3 billion; the Department of Foreign Affairs, P820 million; the Department of Trade and Industry, P1.1 billion; the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, P28.4 million; the Department of Public Works and Highways, P2.9 billion; the Department of Transportation, P9.5 billion; state universities and colleges, specifically the University of the Philippines, P15 million; and the Philippine Sports Commission, P180 million.

Since March, or at the onset of the longest and most stringent COVID-19 lockdown in the region, the DBM released a total of P498.5 billion in funds to fight the health and socioeconomic crises inflicted by the pandemic.

From March to June, the DBM releases under the earlier Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which allowed the President to realign budget items into the COVID-19 war chest, amounted to P386.1 billion.

The DSWD, which is mandated to disburse dole outs for poor and vulnerable households, received the biggest chunk of releases from March up to present, totaling P217.4 billion. INQ