P246 billion savings to be used vs COVID

MANILA, Philippines — More than P240 billion in savings can be used for coronavirus response, President Duterte said on Monday, weeks after admitting that the government is getting “desperate” because of the need to spend huge sums in aid as state revenues shrink.

In his fourth weekly report on the coronavirus response submitted to Congress, Duterte said pooled savings from various sources totaled P246.28 billion as of April 16. The amount is higher than the P189.82-billion savings he declared in his third weekly report dated April 13.

The Bayanihan law permits the President to direct the discontinuance of appropriated programs, projects or activities and use the savings to fund items related to coronavirus response measures.

Congress passed the law to give Duterte additional powers to combat the pandemic, which has infected more than 6,000 people in the country. 

Of the P246.28-billion savings, P148.93 billion has been downloaded by the budget department to “relevant national government agencies.” Duterte’s report did not name the agencies that benefited from the savings.

In his third report submitted last April 13, Duterte said P100 billion worth of savings were released to the social welfare department while P1.5 billion went to the labor department. About P30.82 billion went to the Bayanihan grant to cities and municipalities.

Two weeks ago, Duterte said the government is getting desperate because it has to spend billions in assistance to sectors affected by the quarantine despite the drop in tax revenues brought about by a slowdown in business activity.

“The P100 billion for one month or P270 billion for two months as estimated earlier is not enough. I’m calling on the secretary of finance to generate (revenues). You steal, you borrow, produce money. If it runs out, I don’t know,” Duterte said in a public address last April 6.

The lockdown, which forced thousands of businesses to suspend operations, has taken a toll on state revenues. Last Sunday, the finance department reported that actual collections by the internal revenue and customs bureaus amounted to P600.86 billion in the first quarter, lower by P10.17 billion than the revenues collected in the same period last year. The amount is also P156.26 billion short of the P757.12-billion revenue target for the first quarter. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government would borrow money from multilateral lenders like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to address the budget lack.

Duterte also mentioned in his fourth report the P100.21 billion certified by the treasury bureau that can be tapped to fund requirements for the coronavirus disease emergency.