THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday confirmed that Congress introduced new items as well as increases in allocations proposed by the executive in the P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020.
The DBM made the remark after Senator Panfilo Lacson’s claim on Wednesday that Malacañang and the DBM withheld funding for P80 billion worth of congressional realignments.
The budget department cited President Rodrigo Duterte’s budget affirmation message which said, “increased and new budgetary items shall be subject to the National Government’s cash programming and prudent observance of responsible fiscal management.”
“The Congress-introduced increases in appropriations and new budgetary items in the FY 2020 GAA which did not undergo the usual budget evaluation process, thus, were not part of the President’s Proposed Budget (National Expenditure Program),” it added.
Lacson on Wednesday said some lawmakers tried to realign at least P80 billion from the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” flagship program to their districts’ “pet projects” under the 2020 national budget.
Such Congress-introduced increases shall be subjected to compliance with documentation requirements to serve as basis for the DBM in recommending the release of funds for the President’s approval.
“This shall ensure that government funds shall be made available only for projects which are implementation-ready for the year and aligned with government priorities,” the DBM said.
As the said increases and new items have corresponding effects in the respective outputs and outcomes of the agencies concerned, the DBM said it should inform the agencies of the changes in their respective appropriations and require the submission of documents to ensure their implementation-readiness and alignment with the programmed priorities of the government.
The Budget department said it issued National Budget Circular (NBC) No. 578 dated Jan. 6, 2020 upon the enactment of the 2020 GAA to prescribe the guidelines on the release of funds for fiscal year 2020.
In the said issuance, the total expenditure program for FY 2020 of P4.1 trillion was classified into the following: for Comprehensive Release (FCR) for items to be released with the GAA as the Allotment Order (GAAAO), and For Later Release (FLR) for items to be released using the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) or General Allotment Release Order (GARO).
The FLR items are those the release of which shall be subject to compliance with specific conditions, such as documentary requirements and approvals from appropriate authorities, according to the DBM. (GMA News)
