THE Senate is pushing for a P313.6 billion funding for health and non-health programs in the P5.024-trillion proposed national budget for 2022, including P51 billion for the benefits and compensation of healthcare workers, according to Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, finance committee chairman.
In an online briefing yesterday, Angara said like the 2021 General Appropriations Act or national budget, next year’s proposed national budget gives weight to the government’s COVID-19 response since the pandemic is not expected to end soon.
Of the P51 billion, P40 billion will come from programmed funds and P11 billion from unprogrammed funds.
“We made sure to include for the payment of the Special Risk Allowance and other benefits to our health workers. Even though the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act has already expired, we are at the opinion that these benefits should continue to be given to our public and private health workers for as long as the state of national health emergency is in place,” Angara said.
Funds for the SRA and other benefits for healthcare workers are not included in the National Expenditure Program that was prepared by Malacanang.
“The GAB (General Appropriations Bill) provided P4.5 billion for COVID-19 health workers benefits. The Senate provided an additional P6.5 billion to bring the total to P11 billion,” he added.
He said P61.6 billion (P45.3 billion under the unprogrammed appropriations, and P16.245 billion under the DOH budget) was allotted for the purchase of vaccine booster shots.
He said the P45.3 billion under unprogrammed funds will provide an additional one-dose to around 83.4 million Filipinos at P544 per dose.
“Unprogrammed funds” will only get funding once revenue collections exceed targets and when additional grants of foreign funds are generated.
He said the DOH has P16.245 billion under its Health, Immunization, Nutrition and Responsible Parenting program that will provide one dose to P29.86 million Filipinos at P544 estimated cost per dose.
Angara said P896.4 million was included for the construction of warehouse hubs for the storage of vaccines.
He added that P2.4 billion will be used to hire vaccinators that “will help improve the vaccination rate of several provinces that do not have enough personnel.”
To gather more funds for the government vaccination programs, Angara said the Senate slashed P24 billion out of the P28.1 billion proposed budget for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict’s Support to Barangay Development Program.
With this, the NTF-ELCAC’s barangay development program will only have a proposed budget of P4 billion next year.
“That actually became a source of funds because when you take add funds to an agency, you have to remove from other agencies,” Angara said, adding the budget approved by the committee will be presented to the plenary for further debates.
Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said he supports Angara’s move to slash the NTF ELCAC budget. Drilon has long been pushing to decrease the NTF ELCAC budget.
“I thank him for supporting my advocacy since last year to realign this NTF ELCAC budget which duplicates other programs and is clearly in the nature of pork barrel funds. He should also cut another P2B hidden in the budget of other agencies, such as TESDA, for NTF ELCAC,” Drilon said.
