MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has directed all government agencies to identify savings from their respective allocations under the 2020 national budget that may be used to fund additional coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic expenses.
Administrative Order No. 41 signed by Duterte on May 12 defines savings as:
- Those which have not been obligated as a result of the completion, final discontinuance, or abandonment of programs, activities, or projects (PAP) for which the appropriation is authorized
- Those corresponding to PAPs which have not been obligated as a result of the implementation of measures resulting in improved systems and efficiencies and thus enabled an agency to meet and deliver the required or planned targets, programs, and services at a lesser cost
The AO stated that a report on such identified portions or balances of released appropriations, duly certified by the head of the agency and the budget and finance officers concerned, shall be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) within 15 days from the effectivity of the order.
On the basis of the certified reports submitted by the agencies, the DBM shall promptly determine and recommend to the president amounts that can be declared as savings under the 2020 national budget with due consideration to the extension of availability of appropriations thereof until December 31, 2021; and actual deficiencies in any existing item of appropriation under the same general appropriations act that need to be augmented, including, if necessary, items of appropriation for the provision of emergency subsidies to low-income households and disadvantaged or displaced workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing cases of COVID-19 infection call for intensified government-wide response and recovery measures, including various forms of socioeconomic relief and assistance to those affected by. The imposition of stricter levels of community quarantine,” the AO read.
The DBM was also directed to issue supplemental guidelines for the effective implementation of the order.
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