A joint congressional resolution extending the validity of the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlays (CO) in the 2018 budget has been signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
He signed Joint Resolution No. 3 on December 28, 2018, and it was made public on Thursday, Jan. 3. It extends the validity of these key components in last year’s P3.8-trillion budget to Dec. 31, 2019, enabling the government to continue responding to the devastation caused by natural calamities that devastated the country last year.
The resolution, which amended Section 61 of the general provisions of Republic Act No. 10964, or the 2018 national budget law, would also allow the use of appropriations that have not been released as well as allotments that have not been obligated, since these will be reverted to the unappropriated surplus of the general fund, as reported by the Inquirer.
‘For the benefit of the people’
The resolution cited the effects of several calamities in 2018 like Typhoon “Rosita” (international name: Yutu) and Typhoon “Ompong” (international name: Mangkhut) as well as the monsoon rains that caused floods in several regions, and stated that it was “for the benefit of the people and for the welfare of the nation.”
Extending the validity of the MOOE and the CO in the 2018 budget for another year ensures the implementation of the government’s priority projects. According to the resolution, these projects include humanitarian aid for disaster victims, and the rehabilitation of schools, hospitals, bridges and other public infrastructure.
The resolution was approved by the Senate and the House without passing the proposed P3.8-trillion budget for 2019.
Minimizing damage
All state agencies were ordered by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Thursday to obligate their budgetary requirements but only for the first quarter — operating under the presumption that the government would run on the reenacted budget only in the first three months of the year.
“[The Department of Budget and Management] will do what we can to minimize the damage [from a reenacted budget] to the Philippine economy, particularly public construction,” said Diokno in a statement.
“The sooner the 2019 GAA [General Appropriations Act] is passed, the better for the economy and the Filipino people. Ramping up our investments on infrastructure and social services will only be sustainable if the budget is authorized by Congress,” he added.
