Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Saturday, Dec. 20, that he intends to be more active next year in overseeing government spending and addressing underutilized funds across key sectors.

In an interview with Usapang Senado over DWIZ radio, Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, emphasized that oversight should not be limited to the budget season.

“Actually itong Committee on Finance balak ko next year maging aktibo sa oversight sa paggastos at sa mga kulang na mga pondo dahil lumalabas maraming ring sector na kulang naman ang pondo o maraming sector na di nagagastos ang pondo (Actually, next year I plan for the Committee on Finance to be active in overseeing spending and addressing underutilized funds, because it appears that many sectors have insufficient funds or are not spending their allocations)," Gatchalian said.

"So balak ko talaga maging aktibo ito, di lang during budget season dahil yung Committee on Finance nagiging busy lang kapag budget season but gagawin natin all year round busy para gumawa naman ng oversight (So I really plan to be active, not just during budget season, because the Committee on Finance only gets busy during budget season—but we will stay busy all year round to carry out oversight),” he added.

In response to questions about the continued role of Congress after approving the national budget, Gatchalian stressed the importance of monitoring key sectors and programs.

He cited irrigation systems as an example of a key program that the committee will closely monitor.

“Kung pipili kami ng ilang key programs at isa sa mga naiisip ko, for example, irrigation system, ang laki rin kasi ng pondo ng irrigation system...kung maatatandan natin doon sa interpellation ni Senator Raffy Tulfo maraming mga di naiimplement o di tama ang pag implement so importante rin na maintindihan ng committee kung paano ginagawa o iniimplement itong mga projects na ito (If we choose a few key programs, one that comes to mind is the irrigation system, because the funding for it is also substantial…if we recall during Senator Raffy Tulfo’s interpellation, many projects were either not implemented or implemented incorrectly, so it’s also important for the committee to understand how these projects are being carried out or implemented)," he said.

"So pipili lang kami ng mga key sectors at iniisip namin every week magkaroon ng oversight, whether sa Senate or sa field para maintindihan din natin itong mga key sectors at key programs (We will focus only on selected key sectors, and we are planning to conduct oversight every week—whether in the Senate or in the field—to better understand these key sectors and programs),” he added.

Asked whether such oversight had been neglected in previous years, Gatchalian explained that "styles" varied by chairmen.

Gatchalian said it cannot be considered "neglected", rather it was approached differently.

He emphasized the role of the Joint Congressional Oversight on Public Expenditure, which he described as a powerful committee that, although not convened in the past, was tasked with examining where and how funds are spent.

It identified reasons for unspent allocations, and at the same time ensured that government spending was properly pushed forward.