AN opposition legislator called on Budget Secretary Florencio Abad on Sunday to work for the earlier implementation of the Department of Budget and Management’s commitment to phase out the Special Allotment Release Order (Saro) to expedite vital infrastructure projects of congressmen in their districts.
“We hope the DBM would do away with the Saros much earlier than 2013 so there will be no more delays in our district projects starting this year,” said Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Rodolfo Albano of Isabela.
He said the congressmen favored the removal of the Saro “so that projects covered by Priority Development Assistance Fund [Pdaf] will immediately be implemented for the improvement of the barangays.”
In a statement, Abad earlier said the DBM will begin phasing out the Saros and the Agency Budget Matrices (ABMs) in authorizing fund releases to government departments and agencies.
Albano said that in the past, it took an average of six to seven months—after the issuance of a Saro to legislators—to release a Notice of Cash Allotment (NCA) that the DBM issues to cover the cash requirements of agency implementing the project.
“Like now, the NCA for a project in my district was released only the other day when the project was submitted to the DBM last November yet,” he said.
If the phase-out is implemented, Albano hopes that the NCA will be immediately released upon submission of the congressmen’s Pdaf projects.
“As it is now, we only identify the projects, we submit the projects, it’s up to the DBM to approve and release the funding,” said Albano, a member of the House Committee on Appropriations.
Albano said there were delays in the implementation of the projects because the congressmen have to wait for the NCA release. However, the Department of Public Works and Highways was doing its part to minimize the delay by ordering the start of the projects once the Saros are issued and without waiting for the NCAs.
In the same statement, Abad said removing the Saros and ABMs is in line with the Aquino administration’s goal to hasten budget execution so that it can facilitate the efficient delivery of public services.
“Release documents like the Saro and ABM are supposed to aid in record-keeping and budget transparency. We noted, however, that fulfilling these documentary requirements can take considerable time for agencies, time that could otherwise have been spent in implementing crucial projects,” he said.
The budget secretary said the elimination of Saros and ABMs will occupy two phases, the first of which will begin on fiscal year 2013. The second phase will be executed in 2014, during which the administration expects to completely phase out the release documents.
Under the present setup, solons who want to use their Pdaf are asked to identify the priority projects in their congressional districts based on a menu given by the DBM.
These requests are submitted to the House appropriations committee that forwards them to the DBM. If approved by the Palace, the congressman will receive a notice under the Saro. Once the bidding and the contract for the project have been awarded, the agency should notify the DBM at once to release the NCA.
