GOVPH

At least PhP 45.7 Million worth of airfare savings was reported by the Procurement Service (PS) as of 31 July 2018 due to the Government Fares Agreement (GFA). This savings were generated from airline tickets purchased by government agencies enrolled in the program at a discount of 8% to 9% of the regular prices of participating airlines. This amount does not include unquantified savings from additional benefits which enrolled agencies enjoy under the program such as free first rebooking fee, waived processing fee for domestic and international tickets and additional weight allowances. Agencies also enjoy airport lounge privileges under the program.           The GFA is an initiative of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the PS-Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PS-PhilGEPS) to ensure savings in the procurement of the air transportation needs of all government employees for their official trips. Three air carriers have partnered with PS-PhilGEPS for the GFA. Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB) have been partners since 2016. Meanwhile, the partnership with Air Asia Philippines was finalized on May 2, 2018. Government agencies registered in the...

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has authorized the creation of 2000 new Teacher I positions for the Alternative Learning System (ALS) of the Department of Education (DepEd). The rank of Teacher I corresponds to Salary Grade 11, which is equivalent to a P20,179 monthly gross salary.     The said teaching positions are created specifically for FY 2018 ALS learners. ALS is a program by DepEd, which aims to help elementary and secondary school dropouts, as well as those who were not able to receive formal schooling. Through ALS, out-of-school youth and adults are given an opportunity to finish their primary or secondary education through an alternative means of learning and certification.     The 2000 new positions will be assigned nationwide, as follows: REGION Teacher I Positions ARMM 80 CAR 98 NCR 16 Region 1 140 Region 2 102 Region 3 177 Region 4 A 130 Region 4 B 65 Region 5 192 Region 6 128 Region 7 117 Region 8 151 Region 9 72 Region 10 141 Region 11 143 Region 12 107 CARAGA 141 TOTAL 2000 The funding requirement for this purpose is chargeable against the Built-in Appropriations under New School Personnel Positionsin the FY 2018 General Appropriations Act. This provision is...

The Basic Educational Facilities Fund (BEFF) is among one of the national government’s programs that has received a reduction in its appropriation for fiscal year 2019. In recent years, the BEFF has decreased from its P118.782 billion budget for 2017 by around P13 billion to P105.461 billion for 2018. In the proposed budget for 2019, this was further reduced to P34.742 billion.   The reason behind the reduced budget of the BEFF for 2019 is the Duterte administration’s policy of reducing and eventually eliminating underspending. The 2019 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing took into account the absorptive capacities of the agencies by allocating funds for programs, activities, and projects that they can actually deliver by the end of the fiscal year.   Looking at the data over the recent years of the fund’s existence, there lies significant differences between appropriations, obligations, and disbursements.   For fiscal year 2015, of the P53.875 billion appropriated to the fund only P 39.296 billion have been obligated while only P6.684 billion have been disbursed. In 2016, P82.262 billion were appropriated, of which P59.078 billion were obligated and only P16.375 billion...

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will receive almost P10 billion anew for the implementation of its farm-to-market roads (FMR) projects for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, following the department’s slow budget disbursement registered in the past years.   In 2014, the DA’s disbursement rate was a measly 5.9 percent, based on records from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). This means that out of the P12 billion FMR appropriations, the DA disbursed a meager P708 million. The DA registered a significant increase in disbursement rate for 2015 at 42.8 percent, which went down to 39.1 percent and to 38.1 percent for 2016 and 2017, respectively.   “We want the DA to improve its disbursement rate and translate its budget to actual delivery of FMR projects,” DBM Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.   This is in line with the shift to an annual cash-based appropriations from the two-year obligation-based budgeting system. Under the new scheme, contracts should be fully delivered by the end of the FY, which effectively shifts project implementation to a one-year horizon.   As such, government agencies have to keep up by improving their performance in terms of disbursements and actual delivery of goods...

 One of the oft-mentioned cuts in the 2019 budget is that of the P3B cut in the Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). From P4.7B in 2018, the program is allocated only P1.7B in the FY 2019 proposed national budget.             According to the DBM, the budget for StuFAP was “rationalized” to make way for the implementation of the Free Tuition Law, particularly the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) component of the law which was given an additional P11B allocation in the 2019 budget.             The Tertiary Education Subsidy component is allocated P27B in the 2019 proposed budget from an appropriation of P16B in 2018.   Under the TES, students enrolled in both Public and Private institutions can receive allowances for room and board costs, transportation, books, and school supplies. Those in private HEIs can even have their tuition or a portion of it covered by educational vouchers under the same program. There is also additional support for students with disability, or those in courses that require board examinations.   “Evidently, we have decreased the budget for some programs because they are already redundant with the Free Tuition Program,” Secretary...

Chart 1. Appropriations vs Obligations vs Disbursements of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) from 2008-2018, in thousand pesos.     What’s the real score on the Health Facilities Enhancement Program?   In light of the transition to cash-based appropriations from obligation-based appropriations, a number of legislators have noted several decreases in the appropriations of several line items in the proposed 2019 National Budget during budget briefings held in the House of Representatives and the Senate on July 31, and August 8-9, respectively.   The biggest cut in the 2019 budget is that of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) which is allocated only P50 million in the proposed budget, down from its P30 billion allocation in the 2018 General Appropriations Act, and P24 billion allocation in the 2017 General Appropriations Act.   The Department of Budget and Management cites the “dismal spending performance” of the Department of Health (DOH) in the implementation of the HFEP as the main reason for the massive reduction in its budget allocation.   As of March 31, 2018, the total disbursements for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program have only reached around P13.5...

On August 9, 2018, Department of Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno presented to a large gathering of corporate finance executives details of the Duterte administration’s fiscal reforms during the 10th Annual Corporate Treasury and CFO Summit in Makati City.   In his keynote address, Secretary Diokno shared how annual cash-based appropriations can eliminate the national government’s underspending in recent years. He remarked that “the shift to a cash-based budget… will result in faster and improved delivery of public services. The one-year time horizon of budget execution will push the heads of government agencies to plan ahead, conduct early procurement, and regularly monitor implementation.”   In addition, the Secretarydiscussed the national government’s commitment to long-term fiscal sustainability. For this year, revenues are targeted to reach P2.846 trillion, 16.2% of GDP, and P3.208 trillion for 2019 or 16.5% of GDP, taking into account the additional P89.9 billion and P181.4 billion from the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.   The Secretary also presented the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program. He remarked that “the remaining...