Government funds released to state agencies for their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic response programs have jumped to P500.69 billion, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported on Tuesday.
Budget data showed that of the amount released as of December 19, P217.41 billion went to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Other departments that received more than P1 billion were the Departments of Labor and Employment with P28.98 billion; Health, P74.14 billion; Finance (DoF), P101.04 billion; Agriculture, P36.68 billion; the Interior and Local Government, P4.30 billion; National Defense, P2.92 billion, Education, P15.21 billion; Trade and Industry, P1.30 billion; Public Works and Highways, P5.54 billion; and Transportation, P10.30 billion; and Commission on Higher Education, P3.30 billion.
Agencies and institutions that received less than P1 billion were the Departments of Foreign Affairs with P825.09 million and of Science and Technology, P53.23 million; Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, P50.50 million; University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital, P415 million; and Philippine Sports Commission, P180 million.
These releases were in line with the Covid-19 response programs under Republic Act (RA) 11469, or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” (Bayanihan 1), and RA 11494, or the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” (Bayanihan 2).
Bayanihan 1 covered assistance to disadvantaged or displaced workers during the pandemic; grants to cities, municipalities and provinces; and purchase of coronavirus detection kits, among others. The law expired on June 25.
Bayanihan 2 involves interventions that include cash-for-work programs; skills training; social assistance programs; funding for the agriculture, tourism, transportation and education sectors; and more lending programs to help businesses survive. It expired on December 19.
The government has so far earmarked P2.06 trillion — equivalent to 11 percent of the country’s gross domestic product — for its four-pillar strategy against the pandemic.
The amount covers emergency and wage subsidies for poor and low-income households, small-business employees and other vulnerable groups; marshaling the country’s medical resources and ensuring the safety of health-care frontliners; fiscal and monetary actions to finance emergency initiatives and keep the economy afloat; and an economic recovery plan to create jobs and sustain growth after the pandemic.
The DoF has so far raised $13.36 billion in budgetary support financing from the Philippines’ multilateral and bilateral partners, and from global bonds.
Source: ManilaTimes
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