During a recent Budget Hearing, it was revealed that of the Php 25 billion that was released in 2019 for the Modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), only Php 16 billion was spent or used in time in 2019.
Php 9.4 billion went unspent or unused, and as a result it was reallocated to help fight the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Pandemic.
I was able to watch a Video of the Hearing, and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s answer to this was that they intended to use that Php 9.4 billion this Year (2020), but the restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 Pandemic kept them from doing so.
Apparently it takes some time for them to reach the Contract Signing Stage using the current Procurement method that’s why they weren’t able to use those Funds in 2019. The AFP has been pushing for a new Defense Procurement Law that is supposed to address these problems.
Hopefully the new Law will indeed keep Incidents like these from happening again if and when it is passed and comes into effect. So far the Php 9.4 billion has not been reallocated back for the AFP Modernization in 2021.
You can watch a Video of the Budget Hearing below, but note that it lasts for more than 3 Hours:
SOURCES:
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