Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 6) — Malacañang will confirm next week how much funds from the Bayanihan 2 were unused after the law expired on June 30.
“We will be able to confirm kung magkano po iyong magri-revert sa (how much will be reverted to the) National Treasury but only on July 15th,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a briefing, noting that government agencies were given until July 15 to submit a report to the Department of Budget and Management.
This was the Palace’s response to Vice President Leni Robredo’s statement that the government should have exhausted the budget to improve the COVID-19 pandemic response.
“I ask the Vice President who is an economist, please let’s wait for data before we make conclusions,” Roque said.
On Sunday, Robredo expressed concern over the billions of unused allocations under the stimulus package, which included financial aid for Filipinos affected by the health crisis.
“Sobrang sayang na marami na sanang natulungan na magsasaka, manggagawa, health workers, tapos hindi nagamit,” she said during her weekly radio show Biserbisyong Leni.
[Translation: It’s a pity that many farmers, workers, health workers could have been helped by these unused funds.]
The Budget Department earlier said ₱6.49 billion of the ₱165.5 billion total budget was unused.
Several lawmakers, including Albay Representative Joey Salceda, have called for a special session to discuss extending the validity of Bayanihan 2.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Final Word, Salceda said the Palace not knowing the final unused amount when the issue was raised weeks ago is understandable given there are “too many things happening.” He mentioned the ongoing volcanic activity of Taal, the Sulu plane crash, and the threat of the Lambda variant.
However, he said “there should have been at least some form of planning that would have avoided such big amount.”
“Planning is better than cramming,” Salceda added.
