Call it what you want, but the reality is the Philippine Government’s war budget to fight the COVID-19 is only P13.1B. The earlier reports, which put the figure at P27.1B, included the P14B generated from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and which has already been earmarked for programs to support the tourism sector even before the local outbreak of the coronavirus.
According to TIEZA Chief Operating Officer Pocholo Paragas, the majority of the accumulated funding of the P14B are already allocated as follows: P7.95B for 2009-2018 board-approved projects; P2.12B for scheduled payables; P5.2B for 2019 board-approved projects.
Of the P13.1B fund, P1B will go to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for its P3 (Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso) Microfinancing loan for micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the expanded community quarantine.
P3.1B will go directly to the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, which includes the purchase of additional test kits.
Reference:
Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo. (2020, March 18). Netizens question P14-billion funding for tourism, but it’s really part of pre-Covid-19 budget | Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo. BusinessMirror. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/03/18/netizens-question-p14-billion-funding-for-tourism-but-its-really-part-of-pre-covid-19-budget/?fbclid=IwAR3RCG3sVNXr2zIAmckQMh_6ywivK-X6e726BqfLJQlHUxzzGM3lwMBuOl8
