By Genalyn Kabiling  The government will continue to augment its fiscal resources for its response to the coronavirus pandemic after releasing an initial P132.3 billion for the effort, President Duterte said Monday. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
(ALBERT ALCAIN/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) In his weekly report to Congress, the President said the funds were sourced from the P189.8 billion worth of pooled savings from discontinued programs and abandoned special purpose funds reported last week. Of the allotments, at least P100 billion went to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its emergency subsidy program for 18 million low-income families affected by the coronavirus lockdown as of April 9. Cities and municipalities also received P30.823 billion as part of the "Bayanihan grant" to enhance their capabilities to respond to the needs of their constituents in the face of the health emergency. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also received P1.5 billion for its social amelioration programs for workers affected by the quarantine. “On the funds which Congress has authorized me to program for COVID-19 responses, this administration has been more than diligent in looking for ways and means to source the same, and more than judicious in the utilization," the President said. "The national government is continuously augmenting its fiscal resources for the country's COVID-19 response measures," he added. Another P5.5 billon worth of allotments have also been released to some departments, including social welfare, health, and interior and local government, to cover their coronavirus response activities. The President also said the Land Bank of the Philippines has remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury cash balances from various government agencies amounting to a total P63.6 billion from April 1 to 8. Various agencies have either identified, reallocated or remitted amounts from their budget for the coronavirus response measures. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes has likewise donated P290 million to COVID-19 referral hospitals and approved the release of P447 million worth of financial assistance to 81 government hospitals. On the Senate's proposal to raise the budget deficit by 10 percent of the gross domestic product, Duterte said the Department of Finance has expressed its confidence the country has the "financial capacity" to address the coronavirus pandemic. He said the country has a BBB+ credit rating, a 6.4 percent average economic growth since 2016, high revenue collection, and low debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. The President earlier directed the Finance department to look for funds to boost the country's war chest in combating the coronavirus outbreak and mitigating its impact on the people and the economy. He admitted that the P200 billion authorized by Congress would not be sufficient to cover the coronavirus response. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier announced they have readied a P1.17-trillion program to boost health care, provide relief efforts to affected sectors, and stimulate the economy amid the fallout from the pandemic. He said Central Bank has provided P830 billion in liquidity for the economy. He made the announcement after downgrading the country’s growth estimate to “zero or minus one percent” this year due to the impact of the coronavirus.