COTABATO CITY: the Bangsamoro government has disclosed the breakdown list of the 1.9 billion pesos as a response to the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic as part of its transparency advocacy.
In a statement, the Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MFBM-BARMM) said as of April 30, 2020, it has already released a total fund of P1,918,782,295.00.
The fund was divided and distributed to three accountable ministries/offices of the regional government, namely: the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), and the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), it said.
On Thursday, May 7, regional Cabinet Secretary and Bangsamoro Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Spokesperson Mohd Asnin Pendatun said that the allocated funds of P1.9 billion were a combination of the regular and quick response funds of the ministries and offices of BARMM.
Pendatun clarified, “…it does not entail that these funds have already been completely disbursed or utilized. “We would like to emphasize that the P1.9-B fund allotment has not been completely disbursed or utilized. It means, the funds can be used for Covid-19 related activities or programs as well,” he added.
Below is the breakdown of the P1.9-billion allocated funds of the Bangsamoro Government to address Covid-19 pandemic:
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MINISTER: Tabang Program (P1,000,000,000, Source: Regular Program); Fund Augmentation for Social Services (P200,000,000, Source: QRF-Social Services); Fund Augmentation to P/LGUs Covid-19 Response (P155,000,000/Source: QRF-Social Services); Procurement for Covid-19 related health supplies/materials requirement (P100,000,000/Source: QRF-Health); Ambag Program (P50,000,000/Source: Rregular Program); and Isolation Buildings (P50,000,000/QRF-Capital Outlay).
MINISTRY OF INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: READ!-BARMM (P133,733,555.33/Source: Regular Budget [Jan-Feb])
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT: Emergency Assistance Program (P116,382,073/Source: Regular Budget); and Welfare Goods (P113,666,666.67/Source: Regular Budget).
By MASIDING NOOR YAHYA