Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 28) — Senators asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday to come up with a mechanism to strengthen its monitoring of obligated funds of national government agencies that were only moved to or “parked” in government corporations.
In a hearing of the Senate committee on finance on the proposed ₱2.495-billion budget of the DBM, Sen. Loren Legarda said many senators have raised that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has been doing this practice of “parking” its funds in the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).
“How many agencies of government allow this so-called movement of obligation to a parking space, GOCC (Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporation), or a constitutional office, but it’s actually, Mr. Chair, not used in the local economy kasi nakabinbin lang dun sa (it’s just pending in the) parking space?” Legarda asked DBM officials. “DOTr (Department of Transportation) has been notorious for that.”
The DBM did not answer the question, but Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman explained that the Special Allotment Release Order for GOCCs is fully obligated by the Bureau of the Treasury.
She said the DBM will then release the Notice of Cash Allocation to GOCCs, which will be recorded as a subsidy income and comingled with their corporate funds.
“Once it’s already there, it doesn’t revert to the Treasury,” she added.
Legarda asked Sen. Sonny Angara, who led the committee hearing, if the Senate could work on a special provision that could be inserted in the 2024 budget to address the issue.
While Angara agreed, he said there “should be a more powerful and lasting weapon,” adding there must be a “time element” to push government agencies to actually spend the allotted funding.
“Special provision is only good for the budget year,” Angara said. “There should be something, maybe that should be in the budget modernization code that you’re pushing for, Secretary.”
Pangandaman responded that under the government’s cash budgeting system, all funds transferred between national government agencies (NGAs), NGAs to GOCCs and vice-versa, or NGAs to local government units will not be considered disbursed until the transferred amounts have actually been utilized.
“I think ang nawawala lang siguro [what’s missing] here is the monitoring mechanism from our end and the accountability of the GOCC,” the DBM chief said. “We will work closely with the committee maybe just to introduce amendments to the provision.”
Legarda urged the DBM to improve the provision and strictly monitor the funds, as “parked” or unused funds may amount to billions of pesos when culled.
