Drilon seeks hike in DOH, DSWD budget for 2021

'Kung ikaw ay mahihirap, kasalanan mo ba kung hindi nag-submit ang LGU?' Drilon laments as he opposes DSWD's withholding of P10-B in SAP allocation

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon sought to increase the budget of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in order to bolster the government's ability to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and address the plight of the poor, as he underscored the need to include the special amelioration program (SAP) in the next year's budget.

Drilon appealed to Congress to give priority to the budgets of the two agencies critical in the government's fight against Covid-19 pandemic, saying that the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year does not adequately respond to the country's needs today.

"Sa aking tingin, parang walang pandemic. Yung ating 2021 proposed national budget ay hindi tumutugon sa hinaharap nating pandemic," Drilon said in an interview with DZBB on Sunday.

"The budget is not responsive to the pandemic that we are facing today," he added.

Drilon cited the lack of SAP, commonly referred to as "ayuda", in the budget for 2021 to provide immediate relief to Filipinos, particularly those who lost their jobs and source of income due to the pandemic.

He also hit the DSWD for not distributing P10 billion to the poor. The P10-billion unused budget is part of the funding for the SAP under the Bayanihan 1, which the agency said it did not release due to the "double compensation" and the failure of local government units to provide the list of beneficiaries.

But for Drilon, the DSWD should have been more lenient during these "extra-ordinary" times in the country's history.

"Kung ikaw ay mahihirap, kasalanan mo ba kung hindi nag-submit ang LGU? There are 5.5 million Filipinos who are hungry because of the pandemic. They did not have jobs for the past six months. They rely on the government for help. That is why to me, to withhold the fund intended for the poor is wrong," Drilon said.

Drilon maintained that the unused funds should be distributed to the poor, opposing the DSWD's insistence to use it for livelihood assistance instead.

"What the people need today is ayuda. The livelihood assistance, let other agencies do it. What the DSWD is mandated to do is to provide assistance to the poor," he said.

"Kung walang pera ang taumbayan dahil wala silang trabaho, wala silang pambili, hindi sisigla ang ekonomiya at hindi tayo makaka-recover dito sa ating lumiliit na ekonomiya," he added.

Drilon also cited the decrease in the budget of the DOH, saying it could affect the government's ability to curb the pandemic.

The total budget of the DOH for 2020, including additional appropriation from Bayanihan 1 and 2, amounts to P180 billion, according to Drilon, but it was reduced to only P131 billion in the National Expenditures Program (NEP).

"Maybe at least for 2021, let us give utmost priority to the budgets of the DOH and DSWD. I am not saying the DILG and DND do not need a higher budget but what I am saying is at least for next year, let us give priority to our social service sector in order to address the pandemic," Drilon said.

The DOH and the DSWD placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in terms of the highest allocation per sector, topped by the education sector (DepEd, Ched and Tesda) with P754.4 billion, a Constitutional provision; followed by the the Department of Public Works and Highway with P667.3 billion, the DILG with P246.1 billion and the DND with P209.1 billion.

"We should increase the allocation of DOH and DSWD and provide funds for SAP for next year. This budget should be, first and foremost, be health-oriented. There is no economy to speak if we do not have healthy persons, if citizens are afraid to go out, because of the lack of confidence in the ability of the government to address the pandemic," Drilon said in a statement.

"The people's confidence can be bolstered if they see that we have allocated enough funds to combat the virus," he added.

"The way I see it, however, the proposed budget for 2021 will not be able to respond to the crisis sufficiently given the cut in the budget for the social service sector and the absence of a social amelioration program," he said.