Senator Joel Villanueva had asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to restore the P300-million proposed innovation fund for the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to help generate more opportunities for enterprises and workers displaced by the coronavirus pandemic.
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
During the Senate Finance Committee's hearing on the proposed 2021 budget of the NEDA and its attached agencies, Villanueva lamented the DBM's turning down of the NEDA's request to allocate funds for the Innovation Fund next year.
He said that unemployment projections remain high as a result of business closures.
"We hope that the government can find a way to tap resources to fund Republic Act No. 11293, because as many experts have said, now is the best time for innovation," Villanueva said on Thursday.
"Our budget for fiscal year 2021 is crucial in defining the country’s post-disaster landscape. We have seen how innovations provide hope especially for micro, small, and medium (MSME) enterprises amid the pandemic. I hope ma-pondohan ito. I would rather support this than the DENR’s dolomite white sand . As reported, P349 million iyon, mas malaki pa kaysa dito (the budget for that was bigger than this)," he said.
The NEDA originally proposed a budget of P300 million for the Innovation Fund, and another P17.18 million to finance the secretariat services to the National Innovation Council, which administers the fund. Both were not approved by the budget department.
RA 11293, the Philippine Innovation Act, which Villanueva co-authored in the 17th Congress, puts up an innovation fund from which grants will be issued for programs that will "strengthen entrepreneurship and enterprises engaged in developing innovative solutions benefiting the poorest of the poor."
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua told senators that the innovation fund was included in the 2020 national budget but "had to return it" to comply with the government’s directive to pool its resources to finance the COVID-19 response.
"We actually proposed almost double, but the DBM had to prioritize. I understand both sides. We have fought for it, but NEDA is also not looking only at certain funds or projects but also the entire economy," Chua said.
Before this, the NEDA acting chief had issued a statement stressing the importance of innovation to help the country recover and build resilience from the COVID-19 crisis.
In appealing to the executive department, Villanueva said Filipino-made startup projects have been acknowledged as among the best innovations and inventions created to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I hope the secretary will have the extra effort because you have senators here who could help you," Villanueva told Chua.