Economic team questioned on P216B budget for flood control projects

The economic team of the Marcos administration was questioned Wednesday why flood control projects were given a higher allocation than the entire agriculture sector and Defense Department in the 2024 proposed budget.

During the briefing of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero asked why flood control projects were given P215.642 billion under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2024.

The allocation is lodged under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) proposed budget of P821.106 billion for the coming year.

This is higher than the P197.84-billion allocation for the entire agriculture sector and agrarian reform, including P105.910 billion for the Department of Agriculture (DA); P153.461 billion for railway programs; and P229.934 billion for the Department of National Defense.

“On the macro, on the whole as DBCC, why did you allow one item in the budget of DPWH to be bigger than the Department of Agriculture, not only the Department of Agriculture, the entire agriculture sector for that matter…?” Escudero said.

“The fifth-biggest allocation, not even a department, is flood control. May I ask why that cap was given by the DBM and or the DBCC? If indeed we put a premium on agriculture and our country is an agricultural economy and the President is still the DA secretary, why is it bigger?” he asked.

The DBCC is primarily tasked to review and approve the country’s macroeconomic targets, revenue projections, borrowing level, aggregate budget level, and expenditure priorities. It also recommends to the Cabinet and the President the consolidated public sector financial position, and the government fiscal program.

The inter-agency body is composed of the Departments of Budget and Management (DBM) and Finance (DOF), along with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and the Office of the President (OP) for oversight.

The P5.768-trillion NEP for 2024 was submitted by the DBM to the House of Representatives earlier this month, basing it on the country’s fiscal position.

In response to Escudero’s queries, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman clarified that the DBM did not give a cap on the allocation, saying the DPWH had an internal formula of providing caps for every major project and program.

“I guess all of the projects of the national government as mentioned are equally important, it’s just that we have limited fiscal space and on flood control, I guess it’s but timely to have that big amount of budget now with what’s happening,” she said during the briefing.

Pangandaman also noted that the allocation for the agriculture sector for the coming year was already higher than the provision for 2023, which already posted a 30% increase from 2022.

Meanwhile, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said big-ticket projects would still have to undergo the approval of the NEDA Board, but Escudero said these only account for a minimal share of the flood control projects.

“There’s probably no blanket statement approval on that… We may be able to justify it in certain areas, some flood control projects may be inferior in some areas compared to other needs in those areas,” Balisacan said.

For his part, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Congress would still be able to rearrange the proposed budget before it is passed into law, which Escudero said, with the P5.678-trillion cap, would be difficult.

“The problem with the budget once Congress touches it, given your global cap, is that it is a zero-sum game. We cannot increase unless we remove something from somewhere,” Diokno said.

Moving forward, lawmakers said they will look into the issue once budget hearings for the DPWH take place.—AOL, GMA Integrated News