Marikina City Representative Stella Quimbo on Monday questioned the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over its still unspent P19.9 billion worth of funds for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
During a House hearing on the department’s proposed 2022 budget, DSWD Director of Financial Management Service Wayne Belizar said that only about 37% of the funds in the 2021 appropriations were obligated.
“For current appropriations as of July 31, our unobligated balance out of the P174.718 billion is P109.747 billion so an obligation rate of 37%,” said Belizar.
Quimbo lamented the unobligated funds, noting they contradict government economic managers’ saying there are not enough funds for Bayanihan 3.
“Ngayon lang po natin nalalaman na maraming natira na pondo, as we proceed with the budget hearings,” she said.
[We are just now hearing about these unspent funds as we proceed with the budget hearings.]
Of these unobligated funds, Quimbo cited that one of the programs that has unexpended balances is AICS, with P19.9 billion as of July 31, 2021.
To be specific, attorney Kat Ongoco, one of the directors in DSWD, also earlier revealed that they still have 1.9 billion left from the 2020 funds for the AICS while P18 billion still remain from the program’s 2021 funds.
Expand AICS beneficiaries
Quimbo then asked the average payout for AICS beneficiaries. Ongoco replied that they pay around P3,000 to P5,000, distributed to 1,000 to 2,000 beneficiaries.
Taking the average of the stated payout range, Quimbo questioned how will they disburse over P6.8 billion worth of funds for AICS.
“It is somewhere between P3,000 to P5,000? Ang sabi ninyo ang target beneficiaries is 1.7 million? So P4,000 times 1.7 million, that’s P6.8 billion, so I don’t understand paano mo talaga gagastusin yung pera kung base sa plano ninyo base sa target ninyo talagang P6.9 billion talaga balak gastusin?” she said.
[I don’t understand how you will spend the money if your target is to spend only around P6.89 billion.]
Ongoco said the P4,000 payout is only an average amount for AICS beneficiaries, and that they are also providing medical assistance that could reach P150,000 for each beneficiary.
“Kapag medical ang pinaguusapan, mataas taas ang binibigay, ang range po is P10,000, kapag cash assistance P150,000 ang medical, depende po ito sa uri ng assistance na hinihingi sa amin,” she said.
[If we give medical assistance the range is P10,000 to P150,000 depending on the assistance that they need.]
Quimbo then suggested that they should add more AICS beneficiaries with the remaining amount of funds that DSWD has.
“Pasensya na po, I find the explanation not very satisfactory kasi ibig sabihin for the same number of beneficiaries, lalakihan niyo na lang ang pwedeng maibigay, which is sa totoo lang pandemya e napakaraming kababayan natin na hirap na hirap,” Quimbo said.
[With the same number of beneficiaries, you will just increase the amount but there are a lot of people who are grappling with the pandemic.]
“So para sa akin para magamit nang mabuti ang P9.9 billion pesos dapat po diyan palawakin natin ang beneficiaries,” she added.
[For me we should use the P9.9 billion, we should expand beneficiaries.]
DSWD budget deferred due to red-tagging
Some minority lawmakers moved to defer the passage of the DSWD 2022 budget due to some allegations of red-tagging, specifically from National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) chairman Allen Capuyan.
Bayan Muna party-list Representative Eufemia Cullamat condemned Capuyan’s accusations that opposition lawmakers are members of communist terrorist groups.
She further lamented that they are not attacking the NCIP’s budget, only scrutinizing it.
“Ngunit dahil sa paggampanan natin sa ating tungkulin mismo si Allen Capuyan ay pinaratangan tayo na mga terorista…Hindi po atake yung pagbusisi ng mga budget,” Cullamat said.
[Capuyan is tagging us as terrorists… Scrutinizing their budget is not an attack.]
“Hindi po ito katanggap-tanggap kaya ganito ang dahilan nag-move ako na i-defer ang panukalang budget ng NCIP,” she added.
[We don’t accept this which is why I moved to defer the budget of NCIP.]
Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate echoed the sentiments of his fellow legislator as he also demanded a public apology from the NCIP chair for his allegations.
“Humihingi kami, we demand a public apology from this chair ng NCIP na ang kaniya talaga namang papel ay mas yung pagiging NTF-ELCAC niya na nangre-red tag,” he said.
[We demand a public apology from the NCIP chairman who is focusing on his role in NTF-ELCAC and red-tagging.]
Capuyan had blasted Cullamat in a previous budget hearing, accusing her of spreading propaganda and lies. He was reprimanded and apologized for his remarks. — BM, GMA News
Quimbo questions almost P20-B unspent funds in DSWD s AICS program
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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