Senators question DA execs over budget use, El Niño effects

MANILA, Philippines - Senators yesterday grilled officials of the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies on the DA’s 2016 budget, including how they will address the effects of El Niño to ensure food stability next year.

The entire agriculture sector has a P91-billion budget for 2016. The proposed budget for the DA and its attached agencies is P53.4 billion, or P1.4 billion higher than the P52-billion budget in 2015.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the DA is also proposing a P1.9-billion supplemental budget for El Niño mitigation.

But Senate President Franklin Drilon said Congress cannot approve the request because DA has enough funds. He pointed out that as of July 31, the DA has yet to obligate the P16.7-billion balance out of their own budget.

“You have enough funds in your own accounts in the DA to be able to address the P1.9-billion needed for El Niño,” Drilon said.

“Just realign it rather than being ultraconservative with the Supreme Court decision,” Drilon told Alcala. The Senate president was referring to the SC decision on the use of the savings or unused funds under the fiscal year.

Drilon attributed the unobligated funds of DA to the underspending of the Aquino administration, which has caused the slowdown of the economy.

“In  2015 General Appropriations Act, they have something like P13-billion unobligated funds with them. I am concerned that the preparations of agriculture department for El Niño are inadequate. About 65 provinces will be affected. This is no laughing matter,” he added.

The Senate president urged the DA “to prepare well because the El Niño phenomenon is already with us, and it will affect our farmers.” He also lamented that because of El Niño, more rice imports are expected in 2016.

Francis Pangilinan, presidential adviser on food security, said the President has created a task force led by Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan to address El Niño.

“We are looking at the worst-case scenario in terms of its effect… because El Niño will reduce the harvest, consequently affecting supply. We are planning to ensure that the supply of rice will be enough, and that the prices will not go up,” Pangilinan said in Filipino.

“This early, we are having projections since when we were severely hit by El Niño in 1997 to 1998, there was a reduction of about 25 percent, so that’s equivalent to almost one-fourth reduction in harvest. We have to be prepared,” he added.

Prior to this, Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the subcommittee on finance, spearheaded a scrutiny of DA’s budget.

Villar asked the DA to explain details on the P37 billion allocated to the Office of the Secretary, which includes a donation of P9 billion; P15 billion divided between farm-to-market roads and irrigation, and P9.06 billion under the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP).

Villar also sought a breakdown of the P9.06 billion under the PRDP, a six-year project in partnership with the World Bank and local governments.

An official of DA said that the cost sharing would be 80 percent from WB, 10 percent from the DA, and another 10 percent from the local government.

But Villar expressed exasperation after DA executives failed to explain the details, including how many high-value crops and seeds are included in the budget.

Villar also wants the DA to submit details of P1.8 billion for training, and P950 million under other operating expenses.

At one point, Villar asked Director Asis Perez of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources how much out of P577-million budget for mangroves can be used at Manila Bay in a bid to illustrate how the BFAR will utilize its budget.

Sen. Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on finance, also asked DA to submit the details sought by the senators to have their conditional approval of the department’s budget.

Budget deliberations

Sen. Francis Escudero has been urged to actively participate in the deliberations on the proposed P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016.

Escudero’s experience in fiscal matters and other intricacies of the General Appropriations Act would be a “big plus” if he runs and wins the vice presidency in 2016, Abono Rep. Francisco Emmanuel Ortega III said the other day. 

“Sen. Chiz has always looked into the spending trends of agriculture agencies,” he said.

“He comes prepared. He knows his budget back and forth, inside and out, often more than the so-called budget and agri sector experts themselves.

“We need Chiz in the budget talks. There’s a big, gaping hole when he’s not there.” 

Escudero can help pinpoint the best way to utilize and allocate funds meant to boost the country’s agricultural sector, Ortega said.

Escudero had previously criticized the administration for underspending in agriculture projects, as this could threaten the country’s food security, he added.

Escudero also cited poverty incidence was high among farmers, agriculture workers and fisherfolk, Ortega said.

“Chiz is the only vice presidential candidate who has a firm grasp of the budget process, and that would make him an invaluable asset if he were to go to the executive department,” he said.

Escudero’s sensible approach to problems faced by farmers also shows “an understanding of what farmers and the agriculture sector need,” Ortega said.

“We need to reconcile our given sector allocation with urgent efforts at speeding up agriculture modernization,” he said. “Our overall agriculture infrastructure doesn’t match our present food security needs anymore.” 

The government must also work on minimizing, if not totally eradicating, leakages in the agriculture budget, ensuring that funds go to real projects and intended beneficiaries, Ortega said.

“The agriculture sector is still the biggest employment and production sector in the country, make no mistake about it. An ailing agriculture sector has vast implications on the economy. Agriculture should still be top government priority,” he said.

Escudero resigned last July as chairman of the Senate committee on finance out of delicadeza as he plans to run for vice president.