MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has appealed to Congress not to move the unused funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), saying these could be used in case of another COVID-19 surge.
In his regular Talk to the People aired yesterday, Duterte said unutilized funds had been returned to the Bureau of the Treasury.
“They were asking why the Bayanihan funds were unutilized, it was returned to the treasury,” Duterte said.
“But I hope Congress doesn’t move it. If they want to legislate it, so be it. But don’t move it because that is in preparation for another surge of another variant,” he said.
Duterte said COVID-19 would stay longer, noting that another variant was found in Israel.
“So whether we like it or not, if that (variant) is true, it will reach again the shores of our country,” he said.
“This monster is mutating and we don’t know when this will end. But I guess it would be there or here for the longest time,” the President said.
In a speech on Monday, Duterte said the funds under Bayanihan laws should not be used for any other purpose except for COVID-19 responses.
“Don’t move that because when the (new surge) comes where do we find money? Everything is budgeted. The only way is to borrow,” he said.
Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Eufemia Cullamat, Carlos Zarate and Ferdinand Gaite earlier filed a resolution, seeking an inquiry into the P4.99 billion that remain unused under the Bayanihan 2.
The lawmakers cited a Commission on Audit report, which showed that the funds remained utilized as of mid-2021.
Meanwhile, the Department of Finance (DOF) said funding for the P500 monthly subsidy to households most affected by rising prices of fuel and basic goods would be drawn from increased value-added tax collections and additional dividends from state-owned enterprises.
President Duterte on Monday ordered the cash assistance raised from P200 to P500.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government does not intend to borrow from the debt market just to make space for extra spending on cash assistance.
“Foreign or domestic debt do not create fiscal space, only unbudgetted and unspent revenues do. Fiscal space for additional cash transfers will initially come from the windfall VAT collections and additional dividends from government-owned and controlled corporations,” Dominguez told reporters.
In ordering a raise in the amount of the monthly subsidy, President said P200 could be too little to do anything, especially as the government itself expects inflation to rise from March onward.
Inflation, or the average increase in commodity prices, will hit 3.7 percent this year, touching the high-end of the target range of two to four percent.
Prior to the increase, the DOF allocated at least P33 billion to finance the P200 per month subsidy to the 12 million recipients of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
The amount will be added to the P3,000 to P6,000 in cash assistance extended under the conditional cash transfer.
For funding source, the government expects VAT collection from petroleum products to jump given their increasing prices in the world market.
Likewise, state-run firms are seen to expand their dividends as a result of recovering operations from the lifting of quarantine restrictions.
The government economic team projects a budget deficit of P1.65 trillion, or 7.7 percent of the economy, this year.
For 2022, revenue collection is estimated to hit P3.3 trillion, while state expenditures should rise to P4.95 trillion. – Elijah Felice Rosales