DBM denies existence of alleged P332-B flood fund scam
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management on Monday denied accusations of lawmakers that a "flood control scam" worth P332 billion exists under Secretary Benjamin Diokno.
House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. earlier claimed that the aforementioned amount has been allocated for "non-existent" flood control projects.
This supposedly comprises P213 billion worth of allocations in 2017 and 2018 and P119 billion for 2019, which has yet to be legislated.
"The DBM believes that citing these amounts to present a picture of a 'flood control scam' facilitated by the DBM is irresponsible and misleading," the DBM said in a statement.
The agency pointed out that proposed allocations for 2019 cannot be accounted yet as the national budget has yet to be approved and implemented. The government is running on a reenacted budget pending passage of the General Appropriations Act for 2019.
Both the House and Representatives and the Senate reviewed, amended and approved budget proposals in 2017 and 2018 before the approval of President Rodrigo Duterte, the DBM said.
DBM doesn't pick projects, implementing agency does
The agency also refuted claims of "preferential treatment" in allocating funds to certain areas or districts.
"The DBM has no hand in determining the projects that should be implemented and in which areas or districts. This is the job of the implementing agency; in this case, the DPWH," the statement read.
The DPWH has technical requirements for projects to be considered in their project listing. The DPWH budget proposal only presents the agency's target allocation for the upcoming year by program, the DBM said.
"The DBM evaluates each program based on the program’s budget utilization rates in previous years," the DBM said.
Andaya has claimed that Diokno, not Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, is responsible for the supposed insertions for the budget.
The House majority leader also accused Diokno of making the insertions without consulting Villar, which the Budget secretary already denied.
"His accusations are illusory. The numbers are wrong and the narrative he’s selling is not grounded on facts," Diokno said. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
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