The bill that will extend the use of the 2021 national budget has already passed the second reading of the Senate.
Only Senator Panfilo Lacson opposed the extension. Before the vote, Lacson first asked during the interpellation period the sponsor of the proposal, Senator Sonny Angara, whether the re-extension of the use of the budget seemed to condone the weakness of government agencies.
Lacson stressed that the national budget had been extended several times.
The 2018 General Appropriations Act was extended by one year, as were the 2019 GAA and 2020 GAA.
And now the 2021 GAA is once again extending its validity by one year.
“Are we not condoning or institutionalizing the inefficiencies of implementing agencies to utilize the budget,” he said.
On the other hand, Angara admitted that in extending the effectiveness of the budget, there is an aspect that seems to be condoning the weakness of government agencies.
Proposal to extend 2021 national budget passes 2nd reading in Senate
“I think there is an aspect of than…Pero sa totoo lang the last 2 years is quite difficult because of the pandemic, and we didn’t help ourselves by having the FLR or for later release. So noong panahon ng pre-pandemic hirap na nga tayong mag-comply sa cash-based budgeting…then the pandemic came and obstacle were placed in way of agencies then nag FLR pa ho tayo,” Angara explained.
Lacson’s suggestion is to remove the part stating that the funds should be used for only one year. This is in order not to repeatedly pass an extension to the 2021 GAA,
Angara replied that a similar suggestion had been discussed with the committee. The budget department said that if it does not provide a timeline or a year to use the funds, the agencies may slow down or relax.
Angara added that only the 2021 GAA might extend its validity.
He said that the 2022 national budget proposal had included a section that will address the problem of slowness in the use of funds by government agencies.
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