Lawmakers raised concerns anew over the government’s P45-billion Covid-19 booster budget placed under the unprogrammed funds, which the Department of Health (DOH) revealed was a decision made by the Department of Budget and Management.
They questioned the DOH’s budget proposal for next year, particularly the categorization of the P45-billion Covid-19 booster program under unprogrammed funds and the absence of funding for the construction of new molecular laboratories for testing.
During the House Committee on Health hearing, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo asked Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III if the DOH has a proposed budget for Covid-19 vaccines next year.
Duque responded that they have proposed a P104-billion Covid-19 booster budget, but DBM slashed the proposal to P45 billion and placed it under unprogrammed funds.
“We have a budget under unprogrammed funds,” Duque told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Quimbo questioned on why the allocation was not placed under the regular programmed funds, saying programs that are under unprogrammed funds would only be implemented if the government has excess revenue, a situation that is quite bleak currently for the Philippine economy.
“It will only be funded if we have excess funds. If our revenue exceeds spending. But our economy is declining, our revenues are declining,” she stressed.
“We are hanging in the balance because it is in the unprogrammed funds,” Quimbo added.
Duque explained that it was the DBM’s decision to place the Covid-19 booster program under the unprogrammed funds pending the approval of the government’s technical panel on the use of Covid-19 booster shots.
“We proposed the booster program for next year in case the technical panel decides to have booster shots. The DBM placed it under unprogrammed funds—that’s their decision since there is no technical decision yet if we will have booster shots next year,” the health chief explained.
Quimbo pointed out that the DBM and the DOH are pointing fingers at each other over the categorization of the government’s Covid-19 booster program under the unprogrammed funds.
“It is quite sad because when I asked the DBM they said it is the recommendation of the DOH, and now the DOH is saying that it is the recommendation of the DBM,” she lamented.
House Committee on Health chair and Quezon Rep. Angelina D.L. Tan asked Duque if they have a proposed a budget for the establishment of additional molecular laboratories next year, to which the health secretary quickly answered none.
Duque said what they have in relation to Covid-19 testing is a proposed P5.09 billion worth of Covid-19 laboratory network commodities that will cover the 3.8 million Covid-19 tests and other laboratory network requirements.
“It is really about testing per se, increasing our gene experts and testing kits. I agree there should be more RT-PCR testing laboratories. However, we really need to calibrate [our interventions] as we slowly reach herd immunity,” he said. “It might be better to assess if we need to further increase our testing output as we increase our coverage of Covid-19 immunization,” he added.
But Tan was not satisfied with Duque’s answer, pointing out that the construction of new RT-PCR testing laboratories is even more important amid the rise of more transmissible Covid-19 variants like the Delta variant.
“With the advent of the Delta variant and new variants in the future, I still believe Covid-19 testing facilities remain important,” she said.
“In provinces, there is very limited access to testing facilities. And it is absent in the budget details you presented. There is no specific funding or allocation for the establishment of molecular laboratories or procurement of equipment for the establishment,” she added.