Senator Grace Poe on Friday, August 20, vowed to make sure that government funds for 2022 will used and will not be given to agencies that fail to properly spend it.
"Underspending, delayed and wasteful spending of COVID-19 response fund must have no room in the 2022 budget," Poe, one of vice chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in a statement.
"Budget that is unspent means services undelivered especially to the poor in dire need during this pandemic," she pointed out.
The senator's statement comes after the executive department said that at least P240 billion will be needed to fund the government's coronavirus response for 2022.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque they proposed the amount in the National Expenditure Plan for next year, which was recently submitted to Congress. The Duterte administration's spending plan sought a total government budget of P5.024 trillion, which would be the highest in the country's history.
The Commission on Audit (COA), however, in its reports on various agencies for 2020, flagged several deficiencies and delays in spending public funds, especially those allocated for addressing the COVID-19 and its impacts.
Last Wednesday, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee held a hearing to look into reported deficiencies of the Department of Health (DOH) in handling over P67.3 billion in coronavirus response funds, which include non-compliance with laws and low utilization, among others.
Senators also lamented the underspending of the P5.58-billion budget for assisting displaced public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.
"At a time when our people are more reliant than ever on the provision of essential services, government disposition of funds should be efficient, on-target and prompt. Rebooting an economy dampened by the virus calls for vibrant spending up to the last peso authorized by the law," Poe said.
"We assure a thorough scrutiny of the proposed budget when it reaches the Senate," she added.