6 govt programs get P357B of 2020 budget
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:28:23 +0000
THE Duterte administration has allocated P357 billion of the 2020 national budget for its six economic and social assistance programs, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Tuesday.
In a statement released after the transmission of the proposed P4.10-trillion 2020 National Expenditure Program to the House of Representatives, the Budget department said the government “aims to continue the Philippines’ journey to a more peaceful and progressive nation, by funding the critical programs of the administration.”
Among these programs is the Universal Health Care (UHC) program, for which P166.5 billion was alloted.
Of this amount, P67.4 billion would go to the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., P92.2 billion to the Department of Health (DoH) and P7.0 billion to the Human Resources for Health Deployment Program under the DoH Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund.
Another is the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which will get P108.8 billion.
The DBM said that under the 4Ps, the health and nutrition cash grants of qualified households would increase from P500 to P750 every month next year “to accommodate the rise in prices.”
At the same time, educational cash grants would increase from P500 to P700 for every child enrolled in senior high school, it added.
On the other hand, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will receive P70.6 billion.
Of this figure, P63.6 billion is for the annual block grant, P5.0 billion for the special development fund and P2.0 billion for the region’s share in the national taxes.
The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund will be provided with P10 billion.
This fund, created under Republic Act 11203, or “The Rice Liberalization Act,” that President Rodrigo Duterte signed in February, aims to provide assistance to farmers, cooperatives and associations who will be adversely affected by the influx of imported rice, given the liberalization of the rice sector.
Furthermore, the newly created Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development would get P641.6 million to support its initial operations.
Lastly, P622.3 million was allocated to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which “is the incarnation of the administration’s serious commitment to pursue sustainable peace through an ambitious and comprehensive development agenda to promote inclusivity by eliminating poverty, enhancing social equity, developing greater human capital, and improving physical infrastructure in less developed and conflict-ridden regions of the country.”