Several lawmakers questioned the low budget utilization of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which is seeking higher funding for 2022.
Duin the House Committee on Appropriations budget deliberations on Monday, September 6, the DSWD said its unobligated balance from its P174.718-billion 2021 budget is at P109.747 billion, translating to a 37.19 percent obligation rate.
Marikina Second District Representative Stella Quimbo said one program of the DSWD that has a big unexpended balance is the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
Estimating from data given by the DSWD for the June to July 2021 period, Quimbo said the agency only increased its spending for AICS to about P1 billion in a month. The unexpended balance for AICS is P18.8 billion as of July 31, 2021, according to the DSWD.
If the P1 billion spending rate per month will be followed, Quimbo said the projected balance for the AICS by yearend is still at P15.9 billion.
DSWD Director Katrina Grace Ongoco said the number given by Quimbo is a “reasonable expectation,” but underscored that the amount of assistance they give varies, depending on the assessment of social workers.
Aside from Quimbo, Probinsyano Ako Partylist Representative Bonito Singson and House Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera-Dy also questioned the low disbsuement rate of the agency.
DSWD, for its part, seeks to address the issue with its “catch-up plan" which includes increasing the agency’s manpower to improve its disbursement rate.