SENATE minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III yesterday asked the Senate finance committee to explain why it placed the proposed P52.9 billion budget for the payment of the benefits of healthcare workers under “unprogrammed appropriations” when it will be used for a specific purpose.
Unprogrammed appropriations are allocations that only get funding if the government has excess revenue collections or from proceeds of loans.
Pimentel, during the first day of the Senate’s plenary deliberations on the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023, said the funds should not be put under unprogrammed appropriations since it will be used to pay healthcare workers’ benefits amid the continuing threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Pimentel said the government should already allocate funds for the payment of the benefits and put this under “programmed appropriations.”
He pointed out that since the Senate panel increased the original P18.9 billion allocation in the National Expenditure Program for healthcare workers by P34 billion, for a total of P52.9 billion, this indicates that the government has already computed the total amount that it would need to pay the health frontliners.
Thus, he stressed, the budget should be placed under programmed appropriations.
“Bakit sa unprogrammed appropriations natin ilalagay ang mahalagang panggastos? Meron P41 billion sa programmed (appropriations), pero ito bakit ilalagay sa unprogrammed appropriations? (Why will you put an important expenditure under unprogrammed appropriations? We have P41 billion under programmed appropriations, but this one, why will be it under unprogrammed appropriations?),” Pimentel asked during the floor discussions.
“Bakit sa unprogrammed appropriations ilalagay kung gagastusin ‘yan? What is the logic behind it? (Why will we place it under unprogrammed appropriations if we are going to spend it anyway? What is the logic behind it?),” he added.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, finance committee chairman, said the P52.9 billion proposed budget was placed under unprogrammed appropriations since the payment of healthcare workers’ benefits is dependent on the declaration of a public health emergency.
“I am not sure if there is a health emergency in 2023…That is in the unprogrammed appropriations as discussed since unprogrammed appropriations is a contingency fund, meaning, we have a choice and the existence of the situation to be funded,” Angara said.
President Marcos has extended the state of national calamity due to COVID-19 until the end of December 2022.
Pimentel then expressed concern that if the state of national calamity is not extended in 2023, “does it mean that we cannot touch this unprogrammed appropriation which we increased to P52.9 billion?”
Angara said the unprogrammed appropriation, once given funding, can still be used to pay government arrears to healthcare workers which still amounts to P64 billion.
“There are still arrears to be paid. We can use the funds to pay for them,” Angara said.
