Tag: underspending

Radio, Statements

Kabilaang Sampal sa mga Pinoy na Hirap sa Pandemya: P63B ‘Underspending’ sa Bayanihan 2 Funds, Idinetalye ni Ping

Dalawang malalakas na sampal ang tumama sa mga Pinoy sa panahon ng pandemya dahil sa mahigit na P63 bilyong hindi ginamit na pondo sa Bayanihan 2 – kasama ang P46.397 bilyon na “undisbursed” at P17.23 bilyong “unobligated,” ayon kay Senador Panfilo Lacson nitong Lunes.

Isiniwalat ito ni Lacson matapos ang pagsasaliksik ng mga naturang datos bunga ng unang akusasyon ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na sinabi umano ng mambabatas na mababa ang paggugol ng pamahalaan sa mga pondo nito ngayong pandemya.

“We should keep in mind that underspending is determined not by fund releases but by obligations and disbursements. And based on my research, is there underspending? Yes!” banggit ni Lacson sa panayam ng Radyo 5.

Read in ENGLISH: Double Whammy for Pandemic-Hit Filipinos: Lacson Details P63B ‘Unspent’ in Bayanihan 2
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Radio, Statements

Double Whammy for Pandemic-Hit Filipinos: Lacson Details P63B ‘Unspent’ in Bayanihan 2
Pandemic-affected Filipinos wait for aid from the government

No thanks to a P63 billion-plus underspending by the government under Bayanihan 2 – with some P46.397 billion undisbursed and P17.273 billion unobligated – Filipinos whose lives and livelihoods were affected by the pandemic have been hit with a double whammy as much-needed aid did not reach them, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said on Monday.

Lacson said he arrived at the details when he researched the matter, after being wrongfully accused by President Rodrigo Duterte over the weekend of saying the government underspent.

“We should keep in mind that underspending is determined not by fund releases but by obligations and disbursements. And based on my research, is there underspending? Yes!” Lacson said in an interview on Radyo 5.

Basahin sa TAGALOG: Kabilaang Sampal sa mga Pinoy na Hirap sa Pandemya: P63B ‘Underspending’ sa Bayanihan 2 Funds, Idinetalye ni Ping
Continue reading “Double Whammy for Pandemic-Hit Filipinos: Lacson Details P63B ‘Unspent’ in Bayanihan 2” →

Statements

On the Proper Spending of Bayanihan Funds

The President got his information all mixed up. I am not the Senator who claimed there was underspending under the Bayanihan fund. I’m quite sure because I don’t have the data on the matter, and I don’t speak without basis. Some other legislators did.

My speech before the Rotary Club last Friday dealt with pre-pandemic budget underspending from 2017 to 2019, on the annual average of P331 billion against our yearly gross borrowings of almost P1 trillion during the same period. Nothing to do with Bayanihan.

With that said, I cannot emphasize enough the need for the proper spending of our limited resources, regardless of whether these are from the Bayanihan or not. Our national debt has ballooned to P11.07 trillion as of end-May. Each one of us, even those newly born, is in debt by P100,000. We must make sure taxpayers’ money will be used judiciously.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, there is no room to mix business and health, especially during a time of extreme emergency like the pandemic.

*****