Free P140 billion impounded by GMA

THE DAILY TRIBUNE



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Free P140 billion impounded by GMA

10/06/2009

President Arroyo has P140 billion in available funds which were impounded through transfers from the budget of the various government agencies last year which should be more than enough to augment the depleted calamity fund being used for government relief efforts, former National Treasurer Leonor Briones said yesterday.

Congress is currently reviewing a proposed P10 billion supplement for this year’s budget that will be used to fill up the calamity fund that had ran out with only P29 million left in it.

Briones said Arroyo’s propensity to juggle the yearly budget allocations has resulted in P140 billion in disposable funds in the hands of the President.

"While the Constitution allows the president to reallocate funds of government agencies, this President had done this excessively," Briones said.

For last year, some P178 billion of such fund was reallocated with P140 billion still unreleased and would save the goverment from the sound and fury of going through the congressional process for a supplemental budget.

Briones added that using the impounded funds for the government’s relief efforts would also save the government from further borrowing which it would have to resort to in the plan for a P10-billion budget supplement.

Briones said most of the funds that Arroyo has the discretion to release is also not subjected to examination by the Commission on Audit (CoA).

She said legislators should question the impoundment of funds in the yearly budget that rarely happens, she said, under the term of Arroyo.

Briones cited Bukidnon Representative Teofisto "TG" Guingona III who had criticized the practice of forced savings in the budget that allowed President Arroyo access to billions of pesos of funds

"While the Constitution states that those authorized (persons) may only augment items under their respective budgets from their respective savings, we have on record several transfers made to and from items clearly under other offices," Guingona said.

The practice of impoundment happens through the refusal of the President to spend funds that actually have been appropriated.

Briones added there are other means to build up the calamity fund without going to Congress for a budget supplement, which Briones said is the usual knee-jerk measure under the Arroyo administration.

She said the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) which is a special purpose fund under the Department of Public Works and Highways and is paid by every vehicle registrant is not part of the budget and can be tapped for the rehabilitation of flood-damaged infrastructure.

Using the fund, which is estimated to have from P40 billion to P50 billion in it, will prevent inflationary effect on raising the amount for rehabilitation work since it has been collected from motorists, she said.

She noted that the fund was already used in the recent Asean Summit held in Cebu to build facilities for the meeting.

Nearly a half of this year’s budget of P1.5 trillion is classified as special purpose fund that Arroyo is at liberty to appropriate.

She said the CoA has already questioned its inability to audit these funds.

Briones’ proposal got the support of various organizations who said the impounded funds use is more appropriate instead of hastily approving the proposed P10 billion supplemental budget.The Palace should release the funds it impounded by and realign this to the country’s calamity fund," Roland Cabigas, Managing Director of the La Liga Policy Institute (LLPI) said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, urged congressmen to approve with dispatch the proposed disaster preparedness and prevention bill to avert a repeat of tragedy brought by Typhoon Ondoy.

"I call on our counterparts from the House of Representatives to immediately pass the Disaster Risk Management and Preparedness bill. We need to draw a comprehensive disaster preparedness and response mechanism.

"I am certain that with climate change, this would not be the last of its kind. More powerful typhoons and devastating floods, landslides and other natural calamities are expected to hit us sooner than we think. By then, we should have a good disaster risk management and preparedness mechanism and climate change mitigation and adaptation policies in place," Zubiri said.

While the lower house is yet to act on bill, the proposed Philippine Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Act of 2007, the Senate has approved the said measure last Sept. 2.

The measure seeks to lay down the groundwork for a more responsive and effective disaster monitoring, coordination and response program at all levels of the government. It also proposes the provision of benefits for volunteers who may experience casualties in line of their duty.

It likewise aims to create a more self-reliant and more effective Disaster Management Council to lessen the dependence of local governments to the national government for rescue and relief operations.

It also proposes the participation of non-government organizations to the government disaster preparedness and prevention program to strengthen the delivery mechanism of emergency services and encourage volunteerism and "bayanihan" among the citizenry.

A National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) will be established to advise the president on the status of disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response and rehabilitation organizations being undertaken by concerned government and private organizations.

It will likewise ensure that adequate measures are taken by government agencies to mitigate, prepare for and respond to disasters and assist in the recovery from the effects of a disaster. It will also make certain that all safety rules issued by concerned agencies are properly synchronized.

LLPI, which serves as the secretariat of the Environment Cluster of the Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI), believes that the quickest route to finance government’s disaster response is not via a supplemental budget but by simply releasing already available funds but have been impounded since 2008. It is estimated that impounded funds since 2008 amount to as much as P140 billion.

The group explained that such impounded funds would be enough to cover or finance climate change actions that will prepare the government to respond to disaster beyond rescue and relief, or rehabilitation, but more importantly, for disaster preparedness and risk reduction.

According to Cabigas, apart from immediately releasing the impounded funds mechanism for calamity fund disbursement must be reviewed. A process must be defined where affected local government units (LGUs) directly receive the funds and are able to prioritize its expenditure based on their actual needs including spending for disaster preparedness and risk reduction programs and activities.