Gov’t preparing documents to exempt some projects from public works ban —Palace

Concerned government agencies are preparing the necessary documents to justify their request to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to exempt certain infrastructure projects from public works ban in the run-up to the midterm polls, Malacañang said Thursday.

The administration’s economic managers have requested the Comelec for an exemption as early as February, a month before March 29 or when the ban took effect.

The list includes 145 programs and projects worth P500 billion, of which 59 are being implemented by national government agencies, 82 by government corporations, three by constitutional fiscal autonomy group (CFAG), and one by the Bangsamoro region.

The ban will run until May 12 or a day before the elections.

“We assure everyone that the economic managers are on top of the situation. They know what to do and they do not have to be told on what steps they should undertake,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

He added the Palace will follow all the requirements imposed by the laws on the ban against public works.

“Concerned agencies are now actively coordinating in order to submit the proper and complete documents for such purpose, as required of them by the Comelec,” he said.

Panelo conceded that delays in the implementation of projects were “inevitable at times, given the practical dynamics and legal dictates of our country, but these can be avoided or minimized with proper due diligence by those responsible.”

“As we have said, our economic managers have anticipated all possible scenarios and are ready to adapt so as to permit our infrastructure programs move forward,” he said.

“After all, a little delay is much better than no major infrastructure project at all - like what happened in the previous administration.”

Former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno had emphasized the need to exempt big-ticket projects from the spending ban, noting that the delay in passing the proposed P3.757-trillion budget this year is expected to have an impact on P50 billion of infrastructure projects in the first quarter.

Exempting large infrastructure projects is supposed to partly offset the economic impact of a reenacted budget, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia earlier said.

Pernia estimated that a reenacted budget would dent economic growth by 1.6 to 2.3 percentage points, in case the situation lasts throughout 2019. —LDF, GMA News