The Department of Social Welfare and Development assured Wednesday (Nov. 18) the public that its reported P75 billion unexpended funds will be properly utilized for its intended purpose.
DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista made the assurance after the senators expressed serious concern over the agency’s unspent funds for 2020 as disclosed by Senator Maria Josefa Imelda Marcos who defended DSWD’s 2021 budget during the Upper Chamber’s plenary debates on the proposed national budget for next year on Tuesday.
“Nais po naming bigyang linaw na ang P75 billion na pondo ng DSWD ay nakalaan na para sa iba’t ibang programa ng ahensya para sa taong 2020,” he said during the "Laging Handa” briefing.
(We want to clarify that the P75 billion fund of the DSWD has been allocated to different programs of the agency for the year 2020.)
He said of the amount, P48.3 billion has been allocated to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps); P2.1 billion, Supplementary Feeding Program for day-care children, P2.6 billion, Sustainable Livelihood Program; and P3.9 billion, Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SocPen).
“Meaning, to say nakaprograma for year 2020 at hindi po natin ito basta basta ilaan sa ibang programa dahil kailangan pa po ito ng approval ng ating DBM. Tinitiyak ng DSWD na ang pondo ay magagamit kung saan ito nakalaan,” Bautista said.
(Meaning to say, these funds have been programmed for year 2020, and these funds cannot be spent to other programs because this has to get the approval of the DBM. The DSWD ensures that the funds will be used to its intended purpose.)
During the Senate’s plenary budget debates, Marcos had bared that the DSWD has spent only P86.81 billion or 53.62 percent of its P161.9 billion budget for 2020, leaving it with P75 billion unexpended funds.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon had described as “almost criminal” the agency’s failure to fully disburse its funds for this year, considering that there are 10 million who lost their jobs, and seven million experienced hunger in the last three months.