Duterte: Only 1% of Bayanihan 2 funds unspent

President Rodrigo Duterte said only one percent or around P6 billion of the more than P660 billion Bayanihan 2 funds remained unused, and reminded critics not to make haphazard allegations of underspending.

In a televised Cabinet briefing Saturday, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III reported to the president that around P660 billion of the money for COVID-19 response have been released.

Duterte asked Dominguez to respond to the remarks of Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson that some of the funds were not used for their intended purpose to alleviate the plight of sectors impacted by the pandemic.

“According to the DBM (Department of Budget and Management), we have already released P660 billion… What they are referring to as ‘underspending’ is P6 billion or 1 percent of the total,” Dominguez said.

“The DBM and ourselves are going to each department to see where the P6 billion is, but this is one percent of the problem in relation to what we have released, this is one percent and we are sure that it will be released, but in the meantime we are pushing each department to really spend the money,” he added.

Duterte said members of Congress should listen to the DOFs report on the Bayanihan fund matters.

“The criticism is always on the executive department, that means you are not spending the money correctly because there’s underspending, it turns out it’s only one percent,” he said,

“I’d like to tell Congress now that when Secretary Dominguez is talking, please listen.  There’s no malice in that statement, makinig kayo, para hindi kayo kung sa Bisaya eh tira-pasagad, ‘yung tatamaan ang buwan,” Duterte added.

Bayanihan 2 expired on June 30 after an earlier extension approved by Duterte.

Duterte signed Bayanihan 2 or Republic Act 11494 in September 2020. It was originally set to end on December 19, 2020.

Latest data available on the DBM website indicate that out of the P141.595 billion special appropriations under Bayanihan 2, there were P6.487 billion unobligated as of June 25, 2021.—LDF, GMA News