The chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations yesterday demanded the total scrapping of the cash-based budgeting system, saying that its implementation would institutionalize corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando “Nonoy” Andaya Jr. cautioned that the supposed insistence of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to implement the cash-based budgeting system under the proposed 2019 P3.757-trillion national budget would further breed and worsen corruption.
“Sa halip na labanan ang korupsiyon, lalong titindi at lalaganap ito dahil sa cash-based budgeting system ni Secretary Diokno. This will institutionalize corruption in the DPWH,” Andaya said.
“And who will benefit? Small ill-equipped suppliers and contractors just like Aremar Construction, which is partly-owned by Secretary Diokno’s son-in-law,” the former Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management added.
Citing the letter of former Public Works Secretary Babes Singson dated Jan. 25, 2019 to the investigating panel, cash-based budgeting system will only encourage corruption in government contracts.
“During my term, I purposely package construction contracts above P150 million so that DPWH could attract qualified contractors who would be required to provide proper equipment considering that their contracts are big enough to warrant investing in good equipment. That is why we now see many of the contractors with concrete or asphalt pavers and invested in appropriate construction equipment,” Singson said.
“However, because of the one-year cash budgeting, contracts will again tend to be less than P50 million which will not entice the qualified well-equipped contractors because of the small contracts. I believe this policy of one-year cash budgeting will only be more prone to corruption, result to poor quality national infra projects, engaging small ill-equipped suppliers and contractors, or just end up being subcontracted and will increase the cost of doing infra projects,” the former DPWH Secretary pointed out.
Andaya said Diokno should respect Congress’s decision to adopt the present obligation-based budgeting system in which the government can spread out the appropriations across two years to enable projects’ completion. “I find it disturbing that up to this point in time, Secretary Ben Diokno has no idea on the amount of DBM payables
from 2018. If the DBM Secretary remains clueless on the total amount of government’s debt to contractors and suppliers, then we are in deep trouble,” he said. (Charissa L. Atienza)
