Sotto advises waiting for budget debate before realigning funds from 2021 spending plan
November 18, 2020 10:09 PM
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said he is in favor of realigning "disparate" funds once the Senate enters a budget debate for the proposed 2021 national budget.
"We will have a better picture or better perspective pagdating ng budget ng Department of Public Works and Highways. Kasi nandoon sa ilalim lahat ng DPWH lahat iyon."
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said the disparities in the infrastructure funding of several congressional districts under the proposed 2021 national budget were "new" to him.
"Usually kasi sa mga pinagdaanan kong mga budgets, yung mga districts, hindi masyadong nagkakalayo ang mga amounts ng mga funding nila, especially pagdating sa DPWH. So bago sa akin ito, na merong ilang district na saksakan ng laki yung amount," Sotto said.
(Usually, with the previous budgets, the districts' fundings are not too far from each other, especially when it comes to the DPWH. So this is all new to me—that some districts' fundings are so massive)
During the Senate plenary deliberations of the annual budget, Senator Panfilo Lacson discovered several inconsistencies, mainly under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the budget allocations of some congressional districts.
Imbalanced funding in congressional districts
The proposed budgets of congressional districts for infrastructure greatly differed from each other, Sen Lacson observed. Some were allotted only millions, while others reached billions.
An urban district in Davao was allocated P15.351 billion, a district in Albay: P7.5 billion, a district in Benguet: P7.9 billion, and a district in Abra: P3.75 billion.
"Skeleton projects"
Sen Lacson cited various unfinished construction for multi-purpose buildings (MPB) in some districts, calling them "skeleton projects". After receiving millions from previous years' budgets, the sites still remain undone. He questioned why the same projects still need more funding from 2021's spending plan.
The construction for multiple MBPs makes up P135 billion of the DPWH's proposed budget.
In a presentation, Sen Lacson cited some projects from (1) Barangay Sapilang, Bacnotan, La Union where an MPB or gym (which had already received P15.6 million in 2017, 2019, and 2020) was allotted P5 million in the 2021 budget, (2) Barangays Mabalbalino and Balaya in San Carlos City, Pangasinan where MPBs or gyms (which had already received P2 million in 2019) were allotted P3 million in the 2021 budget, (3) Jones, Isabela where an MPB at Linomot Elementary School already received P21 million in 2017 and 2018, was still allotted P2 million in the 2021 GAB, among many others.
Realigning some of the funds to projects that address the COVID-19 pandemic would be more beneficial, Sen Lacson suggested.
Sotto: wait for DPWH budget
The Senate President, in an interview, said that while he is in favor of realigning the funds for better projects, he would prefer tackling the matter when the budget for DPWH arrives.
"We will have a better picture or better perspective pagdating ng budget ng Department of Public Works and Highways. Kasi nandoon sa ilalim lahat ng DPWH lahat iyon. (...better perspective when the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways comes, because all of it is under the DPWH)."
Sotto also added that he will see how his fellow senators will address the disparities during their budget debate.
