Identifies P14-B from sale of Malampaya natural gas

MANILA - Racing against time, the Senate passed on Wednesday a joint resolution allotting a P12- billion supplemental budget for the relief operations and rehabilitation of areas devastated by tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng. 

The lawmakers approved Joint Resolution No. 34, which was certified a priority measure by Malacañang, as Congress is scheduled to adjourn on October 16.

The Senate tapped the P14-billion proceeds from the sale of the Malampaya natural gas to the Philippine National Oil Corp. (PNOC) as the “main” funding source for the budget.

This source was identified at the 11th hour, as finance committee chair Sen. Edgardo Angara only received the assurance on Tuesday that the funds are readily available.

National Treasurer Roberto Tan reportedly sent a certification to Congress last week on the availability of the P14.4 billion funds. 

Prior to that, there were doubts whether there would indeed be real funds for the supplemental budget after the lower house sourced it from the P75-billion unprogrammed funds under the Office of the President.

According to the special provisions in the General Appropriations Act, unprogrammed funds can only be released when revenue collections exceed the original revenue targets, which hasn't happened.   

The expected route for the government was to source it from loans or grants. Angara said in a hearing of the committee on finance on Tuesday that the initial funding source eyed for the supplemental budget was a loan from the World Bank.   

Transparency provisions 

With 16 votes, the Senate unanimously passed the measure, with amendments aimed at fostering transparency and accountability in the use of the supplemental budget.

These amendments include:

• the NDCC and the implementing agencies shall post in their respective websites the corresponding funds disbursed for relief and rehabilitation programs;

• a Congressional oversight committee must be formed, to be chaired jointly by the head of the Senate finance committee and of the House committee on appropriations; the committee will approve the guidelines for the allocation of funds;

• in cases of work on infrastructure, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could use the alternative procurement procedures if the projects will be under their administration; otherwise, they should follow the Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

 
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano proposed the following amendments following the concerns he raised on Tuesday over the lack of an oversight mechanism and the "control" of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) over the funds. 

“Will the NDCC be the right agency to distribute this?” he asked, as he complained about the body’s lack of assistance to Taguig and Pateros during the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy.

Cayetano, who used to be district representative of Taguig-Pateros, expressed his distrust of NDCC chair and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro after the latter declared that Taguig and Pateros are virtually flood-free.

“I challenge Gilbert Teodoro and MMDA [Metropolitan Manila Development Authority] chair Bayani Fernando to go now to Taguig and Pateros. If they see any water, they should resign. If they don’t [see water], I will resign,” he fumed. 
 
Teodoro to resign by November

On the other hand, minority leader Sen. Aquilino Pimentel moved for the resignation of Teodoro upon the approval of the measure.

He shook his head over the fact that the P12-billion budget will be handed to Teodoro, the presidential candidate of the administration party Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

“It will seem that we would have endorsed him already,” Pimentel decried.

He withdrew his proposal, however, after he confirmed with Teodoro himself that the latter will resign already by November when the funds are rolled out.  

The money will be downloaded to the line agencies under the NDCC, foremost of which are the bodies which spearhead relief and rehabilitation efforts, such as the DPWH, Department of Social Welfare and Development,  and the Department of Agriculture (DA). 

Department heads should resign, too
 
Pimentel said in a press conference after the hearing that heads of government departments with plans to run in the 2010 elections should also step down from their respective posts before the supplemental budget is released.
 
DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, for one, has voiced his intention to join the presidential race.

Meanwhile, line agencies will first have to submit their priority projects to the NDCC first before the budget is allocated.

The DPWH said that they would need initial funds of P1.565 billion for emergency restoration of roads and bridges.

DA official Rodolfo Guieb told Abs-cbnnews.com/Newsbreak that preliminary assessment shows that the agency will need over P1 billion to salvage damaged farmlands and to restart crop production. Total damage to crops and fisheries has reached P18.4 billion.