Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon has doubted whether a cash-strapped national treasury could absorb additional spending on top of the programmed P4.5-trillion expenditures for next year once Congress extends the validity of appropriations under Republic Act (RA) 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act r Bayahihan 2 and the 2020 General Appropriations Act (GAA or national budget).

Drilon said he supports an extension of the expiring Bayahihan 2 as well as the 2020 GAA particularly “in light of reports by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that the country’s COVID-19 war chest is relatively small compared to its neighboring Asia countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.”

However, Drilon said the “funding remains the biggest problem of the government.”

“I support extending the validity of the spending authorization under GAA 2020 and Bayanihan 2. The problem is where to source the funds to back up these authorizations,” Drilon said.

Bayanihan 2 is set to expire on Dec. 19 while the 2020 GAA is valid only until Dec. 31.

“To provide authorization is one thing but to fund it is another. Our current fiscal space makes us doubt whether the level of unspent amount under Bayanihan 2 and 2020 GAA is something the government can absorb on top of the programmed expenditures for next year,” Drilon noted.

The President is set to sign the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year with a programmed deficit of 8.9 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), he added.

To address the government’s cash requirement, Drilon said the government must do another “cash sweep” in order to raise funds to implement much-needed relief programs in the Bayanihan 2 and continue critical programs, projects, and activities under 2020 GAA.

 “The President must realign idle funds, including the P33-billion ‘parked’ funds in the Philippine International Trading Center (PITC), where the spending authority already lapsed, including the interest earned, to fund these authorizations. We have no option but to do a ‘cash sweep’ and that should cover idle funds and interest income being held illegally by PITC,” Drilon stressed.

 “Hindi natin nawalis ‘yung PITC na may natutulog na mahigit P33 bilyon. Naitago po nila sa DepartmentofFinance (DoF).Withourvigilance, PITC can no longer keep the funds. This huge sum of money being withheld by PITC should be put to good use by buying COVID-19 vaccines or by funding Bayanihan 2 extension,” Drilon said.

 (We can’t disregard the P33 billion parked at PITC. These were hidden in the Department of Finance)