Partylist lawmakers have proposed a congressional inquiry into the failure of government to spend Bayanihan 2 funds notwitstanding the urgency of the implementation of programs to be financed by the allocation.
Deputy Speaker Eddie Villanueva and fellow CIBAC Partylist Rep. Domeng Rivera filed House Resolution No. 1931 asking the appropriate Lower House committee to lead the probe that will dig into the slow utilization of funds for vital projects aimed at addressing the for 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Villanueva and Rivera underscored the importance of determining the reasons behind the inability of the Duterte administration to fully dispose of P9 billion Bayanihan 2 fund that expired on June 30.
“The expiration of unspent Bayanihan 2 funds simply means one thing: we deny our people of their much-needed help and assistance amidst this COVID-19 pandemic when they are already grappling to survive,” said Villanueva.
The House official added: “It is necessary that we look into why this happened and track any bureaucratic bottleneck, inefficiency or negligence that might have led to the lapse of the funds.” Villanueva said findings of the congressional inquiry will be “very helpful for Congress to scrutinize the 2022 proposed budget that will be submitted by the President and to ensure that all appropriations therein are need-based, data-driven and truly responsive to our existing problems.”
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), in its utilization report of Bayanihan 2 funds posted on its website, revealed that some P18 billion funds remained unspent as of May 31, 2021. However, as of July 1, it said that around P9 billion remained unspent.
Low utilization rates were noted in the stimulus packages for the agricultural sector; the allocation for the implementation of the digital basic education and budget for subsidies and allowances to qualified students.
The DBM also reported that low utilization of funds was noted in the allocation for COVID 19 laboratory testing services of the Department of Health; hiring of additional government personnel and the funding of varius COVID-19 facilities as well as the hiring and training of contract tracers.
Rivera lamented that government agencies were unable to disburse the Bayanihan 2 funds when there is real and urgent need for the implementation of the programs that would help address or alleviate the devastating effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.