The chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations last Sunday said the lower chamber will pass a supplemental budget to finance Republic Act (RA) 10931, or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of Davao City, the panel chairman, said several government agencies have unused funds under 2015, 2016 and 2017 appropriations laws.
The appropriations committee has identified the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) as among those agencies that have low absorptive capacity.
Nograles said he is doubtful if these agencies will be able to utilize those funds that will expire on December 31.
“I am looking at these funds as savings, and I will write a supplemental budget. Instead of reverting [the funds] to the national treasury, we can declare them as savings to use as fund for the free higher education law,” the lawmaker said in a radio interview.
Nograles, citing the Department of Budget and Management’s National Budget Circular 567, said government agencies has to ensure obligation of projects and programs funded under 2017 General Appropriations Acts (GAA) not later than December 31.
He said that, while allocations under 2015 and 2016 GAA cannot be tapped for the 2018 national expenditure program, it can still be programmed for spending under a supplemental budget by the lower chamber.
During the budget deliberations of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the agency estimated that P34.1 billion is needed to fund the free tertiary education.
RA 10931 will benefit students in 114 state universities and colleges (SUCs), 16 local universities and colleges accredited by the CHED and 122 technical-vocational institutions under Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Earlier, Nograles said the DICT, the DAR and the DOTr can contribute at least P37.5 billion to fund the free college education law.
Nograles added the DICT has P2.7 billion of unused appropriations in 2016 and P2.695 billion in unused appropriations in 2017.
Also, Nograles said that an additional P5 billion can be sourced from the DAR and P30 billion from the DOTr.
Nograles also said the DOTr has failed to utilize P33 billion in 2015, and in 2016 “they have so far failed to obligate P30 billion of their budget allocation.”