Dispatch from Crame No. 950:
Sen. Leila de Lima on the release and spending of the Bayanihan Law 2 budget

10/22/20

Pa-patay-patay. No sense of urgency!

The Duterte administration's abysmal streak of failures continue to demonstrate how extremely inept it is to keep up with the needs and demands of the Filipino people, especially from the hardest-hit sectors of this pandemic.

Aside from the ₱10B SAP aid from Bayanihan 1 being impounded by the DSWD as millions of Filipinos go hungry and jobless, there are still billions of appropriated in Bayanihan 2 fund that remain unreleased to the implementing agencies.

In my comments on the 1st Monthly Report of the President under Bayanihan 2, I pointed out that, after more than a month of the law's implementation, most of the funds have yet to be released or spent.

Of the total ₱165B budget under Bayanihan 2, so far, only ₱2.5B for contact tracing was released to the DILG - signifying nothing less than a failure in effecting one of the most effective methods to help stem the spread of the virus.

Medical frontliners still helplessly await for the Special Risk Allowance for healthcare workers - kakarampot na nga lang, pinatatagal niyo pa.

The ₱10B additional funding to provide loans to MSMEs has likewise not been released despite the categorical mandate of the law. Walang agarang aksyon sa mga naghihingalong maliliit na negosyo!

PUV drivers who were all badly stricken by the hard lockdowns and strict protocols and who were also allocated with ?3B in Bayanihan 2, have resorted to begging in the streets or selling miscellaneous goods just to get by because that ₱3B remains on paper.

The list goes on. Ano pang hinihintay ninyo?!

Patapos na ang taon, parating na ang 2021 budget, ngunit hindi pa rin prayoridad ang pagbibigay ng tulong at ayuda sa mga nangangailangan. Epic fail talaga!

The President has constantly harped and complained, in his late night ramblings, about how we have no more money left, but that he will try to look for more. But the real numbers won't lie. There's money, but the questions are: where has it gone and where is it going? ###

(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 950, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_no._950)