Drilon questions P7.5-B SEA Games fund lodged in DFA budget

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Thursday questioned the P7.5-billion allocation for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games lodged within the budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs, saying sports is not part of the agency's mandate.

During the plenary deliberation on the DFA’s 27.4-billion proposed budget for 2019, Drilon was surprised and puzzled that the amount for the regional sporting event remained with the DFA despite the budgets' going through several stages of scrutiny.

“We could not understand why the budget of P7.5 billion was lodged in the DFA under the National Expenditure Program, lodged in the DFA under the General Appropriations Bill, lodged in the DFA under the Senate committee report. How did this happen? Why is it that after three stages of the budget preparation, it still remained with the DFA?” he said.

Drilon said it is obviously an error to put the P7.5 billion budget for next year's SEA Games, which the Philippines will host, with the Foreign Affairs department.

“At the very least why was it not discovered? If such a  huge amount of fund can be misallocated in an agency that has nothing to do with its mandate, I hope that does prompt us to comb over every item [in the budget],” he said.

He said it was a good thing that Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. sent the  Senate a letter advising the chamber to remove the P7.5 billion from DFA and transfer it to the appropriate agency.

Cayetano's request

Finance committee chairperson Senator Loren Legarda said that the SEA GAmes fund had been lodged at the DFA at the request of former Foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who is the chairman of the games' organizing committee.

“So in the preparation of the NEP it was put under DFA. I think he even mentioned this to me but then that is all water under the bridge. He is no longer the secretary and Secretary Locsin asked that it be lodged under another competent agency,” she said.

Drilon said the matter is not water under the bridge because it can be repeated in the future where the allocation of the budget depends on the person heading the agency.

“We are just bringing this out because of the erroneous practice. What I’m highlighting is we should exercise caution in doing this thing because we cannot move  budget on the basis of the personal preferences of the heads of the agencies,” he said.

“Certain rules have to be followed. In this particular case, the mandate of DFA has nothing to do with sports development and this is the first time I hear that the DFA is having P7.5 billion budget for sports development,” Drilon added.

The chamber has transferred the fund to the Philippine Sports Commission.

The Philippines will host the Southeast Asian Games from November 29 to December 10 next year, with the bulk of the games to be held in Clark, Pampanga. Subic and Metro Manila will also be venues for some events. — BM, GMA News