Robredo: DOH flawed use of P67-B fund refutes gov't claims it lacks money for pandemic

Vice President Leni Robredo said Thursday that the Commission on Audit (COA) report showing the Department of Heath (DOH) committed deficiencies in spending its P67 billion COVID-19 response contradicts the Duterte administration’s claim that the country’s resources are not enough amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robredo was referring to COA’s 2020 Annual Audit Report on the Health department which revealed that the deficiencies were mainly caused by non-compliance with laws, rules, and regulations, with P42.41 billion alone transferred to procurement or implementing partner agencies without a memorandum of agreement and other supporting documents. 

“Nakakasayang kasi parati nating sinasabi na wala tayong pera, kulang iyong—hindi natin mabibigyan ng ayuda iyong lahat dahil kulang iyong pera, hindi natin nabibigay kaagad iyong hazard pay para sa mga health workers dahil kulang iyong budget. Kulang pa rin iyong—iyong PhilHealth hindi pa rin nababayaran iyong ibang mga ospital dahil kulang iyong budget,” Robredo said during COVID-19 Vaccine Express drive thru vaccination for public utility vehicle and delivery service drivers in Quezon City.

(It is just a wasted opportunity...they are always saying that we don’t have enough money, that we could not give cash aid to everybody because we don’t have enough money, we are unable to grant the hazard pay of health workers on time and PhilHealth has unpaid hospital claims because of lack of budget.)

“Kung totoo ngang maraming hindi nagastos, malungkot ito. Malungkot kasi gustong sabihin may pera pero hindi siya nagamit or hindi siya nagastos nang tama,” she added.

(If indeed a lot of funds are unspent, this is sad. This is sad because all along we had the money and yet we failed to use it, if not mismanaged it.)

Likewise, Robredo said it is puzzling why the national government’s debt has reached trillions when apparently, there is enough fund.

“And on top of it, alam natin na marami tayong utang ngayon. So iyong tanong, bakit tayo mangungutang kung marami palang pera na hindi nagagastos? (We have a lot of debts, so the question is, why are we borrowing money when we have unspent budget?),” she said.

“Kasi kapag nag-utang tayo, every day na inutang natin iyong pera nagbabayad tayo ng interes (Because if we borrow money, every day we do that, we have to pay it with interest),” she added.

The Palace earlier said that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has a lot to explain about the COA report.

The National Capital Region (NCR) has been placed under lockdown from August 6 to 20 to curb COVID-19 transmission. The government has released P10 billion to fund cash aid to low income families in the region.

In August 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte said the government has no more money for food or financial assistance in the event of another lockdown.

The Department of Finance (DOF) had announced that time that borrowings have reached P1.22 trillion in the first four months of 2020, as the administration ramped up its reliance on borrowing to fund the COVID-19 response and economic relief initiatives.

The President, in July 2021, again lamented the country’s lack of resources and as such, he said there is a need to allow more casino operations in the country.—LDF, GMA News