THE Department of National Defense (DND) saw its total operating expenses in 2020 drop by P77 million to P447.49 million compared to P524.5 million in 2019.
A breakdown of the agency’s spending last year showed substantial declines in three expense items — travel, training/seminars, and representation.
The figures were provided in the Notes of Financial Statements of the DND contained in the 2020 audit released last June 3.
Total travel expenses in 2020 only amounted to P3.167 million, down from P34.74 million as global and local restrictions clamped hard on mobility.
Year on year, foreign trips spending went down to P2.36 million from P27.38 million while local travels accounted for only P803,272 compared to P7.36 million in 2019.
With big crowds being declared a health risk and indoor gatherings prohibited, training seminars also plummeted from P12.6 million in 2019 to just P1.98 million last year.
“The significant decrease in training expense was due to the prevailing quarantine restrictions where face-to-face trainings or seminars are prohibited. Only webinars are conducted within the agency, which only entails the payment of honoraria to resource speakers and meals which are provided only to participants who are physically reporting at the office,” the Commission on Audit noted.
Savings were realized primarily from unspent budget for venue rental and off-site accommodations for seminars that would usually take several days.
Representation expenses were also reduced by 63 percent from P34.82 million to P13.05 million.
The pandemic also limited office time activities, resulting in electricity bills declining to P18.92 million from P23.3 million.
However, telephone expenses showed a slight uptick from P10.78 million to P11.19 million.
The DND’s confidential expenses likewise posted a sharp increase from P28 million in 2019 to P35.5 million last year.
