DBM clarifies role in disbursing PDAF funds

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) clarified yesterday its role in disbursing congressional allocations and other funds since 2005 as investigations into allegations of misuse of pork barrel funds and other appropriations continue.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad issued Circular Letter dated Jan. 9, 2015 addressed to the Commission on Audit, the Office of the Ombudsman and other offices concerned “in view of the related disallowances and cases filed against DBM officials and employees.”

Abad said since Fiscal Year 2005 and succeeding fiscal years, all Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) were directly released to implementing agencies (IAs).

This, he said, was pursuant to the express provisions of the Special Provision 1 of the 2005 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which already included a list of programs, projects and IAs upon which the requests for release of funds were evaluated if they complied with the PDAF menu as well as rules governing such projects.

Abad listed in his letter the special provisions in the 2005 to 2010 GAAs that listed the projects, programs and IAs.

The letter was issued as the COA and the Office of the Ombudsman have been investigating DBM officials for alleged involvement in alleged pork barrel scams and other fund misuse on account of their supposed failure to conduct due diligence on the anomalous projects.

The letter, in effect, reiterated that budget officials and employees should not be impleaded in various administrative and criminal cases for the supposed scams as the DBM was merely the disbursing office.

There is no need for IAs and proponents to submit detailed feasibility studies or programs of work on the projects to the DBM as the agency is not equipped to scrutinize such documents, he said.

Abad said the requirement to submit project profiles and endorsement by IAs as previously required under National Budget Circular No. 476 of 2000, which has been repeatedly invoked by the COA and the ombudsman, is already effectively superseded by the enactment of the 2005 GAA. – With Zinnia dela Peña