MANILA, Aug. 5 (PNA) — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Wednesday stressed that releases for Yolanda rehabilitation were made as urgently as possible—and in line with fund release processes—adding that former senator Panfilo Lacson’s allegations on slow Yolanda releases were untrue and based on incorrect data.
Lacson formerly headed the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR). He resigned from the post in December 2014.
“Lacson’s points do not give an accurate picture of the government’s efforts to help the Yolanda survivors. Not only that—his claims are based on erroneous information. The DBM acted with great urgency in releasing the funds, but we also had to follow the release process to ensure full transparency and accountability. As former head of OPARR, Lacson should, of all people, understand that we cannot skirt the fund release process for post-Yolanda projects,” Budget and Management Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said.
Lacson previously alleged that the PHP80-billion requirement for the Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (CRRP) was not included in the 2014 budget.
But DBM records show that the CRRP’s rehabilitation plan—which would also form the basis for its budget in FY 2015—was only submitted by Lacson’s office in October 2014, months after the proposed 2015 Budget was submitted to Congress.
Lacson also claimed that with PHP350 billion in savings in 2014, the DBM did not have to look far to fund the PHP80-billion Yolanda rehabilitation requirement.
“Lacson’s figure for 2014 savings is incorrect. We didn’t generate PHP350 billion in savings. Instead, we posted only PHP11 billion in savings last fiscal year, PHP2.5 billion of which was already realigned to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF). He may be referring to the PHP303-billion spending shortfall in 2014. This cannot be considered as savings because the amount was already allocated for specific programs and projects in the 2014 national budget.”
Finally, the budget agency has already released PHP88.96 billion for Yolanda relief and rehabilitation operations, contrary to figures earlier cited by Lacson and Social Watch. The total amount covers the releases from the end of 2013 to the first semester of 2015.
For the second half of 2015, the DBM plans to release PHP14.05 billion more for post-Yolanda rehabilitation work. The release will be tapped from available 2015 fund sources, such as the Rehabilitation and Recovery Program, the Unprogrammed Fund, and savings from various agencies.
“We always welcome criticism, and the DBM is receptive to requests for clarification and information on government spending. At the same time, however, I cannot overemphasize this: public service demands that we remain truthful. You do the public no good if you feed them incorrect data,” Abad said. (PNA)