Funds for Covid response programs swell to P376B

State funds released to various government agencies for their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response programs have so far reached P376.57 billion, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Thursday.

Data from the Budget department showed that of the amount disbursed as of August 10, the bulk, or P200.97 billion, went to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its Social Amelioration Program and other expenses.

Other agencies that received more than P1 billion were the Department of Finance (DoF) with P88.13 billion; Department of Health, P48.97 billion; Department of Labor and Employment, P12.58 billion; Department of Agriculture, P11.38 billion; Department of Education, P10.91 billion; and Department of National Defense, P1.35 billion.

The Department of Public Works and Highways got P842.66 million; Department of the Interior and Local Government, P747.92 million; state universities and colleges, P400 million; Department of Trade and Industry, P203 million; Department of Science and Technology, P53.23 million; Department of Foreign Affairs, P5.09 million; and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, P500,000.

The Covid-19 response programs under these agencies cover disadvantaged or displaced workers during the pandemic; grants to cities, municipalities and provinces; and purchase of coronavirus detection kits, among others.

The government has so far earmarked P1.74 trillion — equivalent to 9.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product — for its four-pillar strategy against the pandemic. The amount covers providing emergency and wage subsidies for poor and low-income households, small-business employees, and other vulnerable groups; marshaling the country’s medical resources and ensuring the safety of health-care frontliners; fiscal and monetary actions to finance emergency initiatives and keep the economy afloat; and an economic recovery plan to create jobs and sustain growth after the pandemic.

The DBM data comes after the DoF raised $7.63 billion in budgetary support financing from the Philippines’ multilateral and bilateral partners, and from global bonds, of which $6.26 billion has been disbursed to the government.

A total of $496.36 million in grant and loan financing have also been delivered to support various projects to be implemented by agencies involved in the Covid-19 response.

Also on Thursday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd told the business community that the government was focused on saving lives, not only from the pandemic, but also from hunger and other diseases that could happen as a result of the economic fallout from the health crisis.

“We cannot fight a pandemic with a weak economy, nor can we restore economic vigor without solving the public health crisis. We need a healthy people and a strong economy,” Dominguez said in his videotaped message to participants of the 29th North Luzon Area Business Conference, organized online by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He also said the government would remain judicious in using its fiscal and financial resources, describing the pandemic as a drawn-out series of battles with nothing that could knock it out.

“We are therefore conserving our fiscal stamina for a full, 12-round fight. Our capacity to fight can and will outlast this health challenge,” he added.

Source: TheManila Times