DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 04 September) – Only seven of Mindanao’s 27 prvoinces and eight of its 33 cities have complied with the requirement of the Department of Budget to post on their websites how they spent the millions of pesos given them under the Bayanihan Grant for Cities and Municipalities (BGCM) and Bayanihan Grant for Provinces (BGP).
The Bayanihan Grant is a one-time assistance to the local government units (LGUs) provided under Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan Heal as One Act to allow them to quickly respond to the public health crisis.
Mindanao’s 27 provinces, 33 cities and 422 towns received a total of 10.5 billion pesos out of the nationwide Bayanihan Grant allocation of 37.02 billion.
The BGCM is equivalent to one month IRA share while the BGP is half a month’s IRA share and are to be “exclusively used for … COVID-19-related programs, projects, activities (PPAs) and expenses.”
MindaNews searched the websites and website links of the cities and provinces and found that as of 11 p.m. on September 3, only eight cities have posted reports on their websites: Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iligan, Isabela, Island Garden City of Samal, Malaybalay, Oroquieta and Tagum; and seven provinces: Agusan del Norte, Basilan, Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and South Cotabato.
Fourteen cities have active websites but had no reports posted on their Transparency Section or on any other page of their website as of 11 p.m. on September 3: Butuan, Dapitan, Digos, Cabadbaran, El Salvador, General Santos, Kidapawan, Mati, Panabo, Surigao, Tandag, Tacurong, Valencia and Zamboanga,
Dapitan City’s website has entries under its Transparency Section’s “Bids and Awards” of its supposed fund utilization reports supposedly for May, June and July but clicking on the supposed links lead back to the home page.
The rest either have no websites, have websites under maintenance, or websites that cannot be accessed. (see tables below)
Ten provinces have active websites but have no reports as of 11 p.m. on September 3: Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Davao Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Surigao del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.
Bukidnon’s website has a page under its Transparency Section supposedly for the Bayanihan Grant utilization reports but the page is empty except for the date of a supposed post on August 10. The rest either have no websites, have websites under maintenance, or websites that cannot be accessed.
The DBM under Local Budget Circulars 125 for cities and municipalities and 126 for provinces, mandates the mayors and governors to prepare a “monthly report on fund utilization and status of implementation of the PPAs” using a format prescribed by the DBM.
The local chief executives are also mandated to “post the accumulated reports” on the local government unit’s website and in “at least three conspicuous public places in the locality at the end of every month.”
Residents who can’t find the LGU’s monthly reports on the websites can check if these were posted in “three conspicuous public places” and if they did so “at the end of every month.”
The BGCM is equivalent to one-month FY 2020 Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of the cities and municipalities and is intended to “boost their capacity in immediately responding to the COVID-19 emergency.”
The BGP on the other hand is equivalent to one half of one-month FY 2020 IRA of the provinces and is intended to be used “as augmentation to the funding requirements for the operation of provincial, district, and other local hospitals operated by the provincial government, and maintenance of duly established provincial checkpoints related to COVID-19, in support to the on-going efforts of the Government to respond to the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The IRA is the annual share of local government units from national internal revenue taxes. The formula for computation takes into account the LGU’s population (50%), land (25%) and equal sharing (25%) so LGUs with a bigger population and land area like Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato provinces, and the cities of Davao, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro get a bigger share of the IRA pie. (see other story)
The DBM’s circulars also mandated the governors and mayors to send a written notice when they have posted on their websites their BGCM and BGP utilization reports on their website, to the DBM, House of House of Representatives, Senate of the Philippines, House Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Finance, and other offices where the submission of reports is required under existing laws, rules, and regulations.
Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado in a letter circular on July 10 noted there is a “relatively low utilization rate” of the Bayanihan Grant and reminded mayors and governors to expedite the utilization of their respective allocations from the Bayanihan Grant; “efficiently identify and implement P/A/Ps that are responsive in addressing the COVID-19 situation in the LGU” and strictly comply with the posting and reporting requirements.
Aside from the DBM’s mandate, President Rodrigo Duterte on August 24 said funds released to deal with COVID-19 should all be accounted for. “
BAYANIHAN GRANT FOR MINDANAO CITIES
Source: Department of Budget and Management
Amounts represent a month’s IRA share
No. |
City |
Amount (in PhP) |
Fund utilization reports posted on website |
1 |
Davao |
462,047,664 |
May, June, July 2020 |
2 |
Zamboanga |
263,816,273 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
3 |
Cagayan de Oro |
156,283,838 |
As of Aug 3, 2020 |
4 |
General Santos |
150,298,788 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
5 |
Iligan |
137,604,081 |
May, June, July 2020 |
6 |
Butuan |
137,021,260 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
7 |
Malaybalay |
124,538,952 |
June, July 2020 |
8 |
Valencia |
97,046,870 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
9 |
Mati |
94,093,447 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
10 |
Bayugan |
91,505,899 |
No website |
11 |
Gingoog |
85,212,650 |
cannot be accessed as of 3 Sept 2020 |
12 |
Pagadian |
81,438,955 |
No website |
13 |
Cotabato |
80,550,604 |
Cannot be accessed as of 3 Sept 2020 |
14 |
Tagum |
76,069,243 |
May, June, July 2020 |
15 |
Kidapawan |
70,921,677 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
16 |
Koronadal |
69,720,979 |
Cannot be accessed as of 3 Sept 2020 |
17 |
Digos |
69,682,026 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
18 |
Panabo |
69,139,371 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
19 |
Dapitan |
64,721,661 |
May, June, July 2020 cannot be downloaded |
20 |
Surigao |
64,060,661 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
21 |
Bislig |
61,899,682 |
No website |
22 |
Island Garden City of Samal |
60,932,715 |
April, May, June 2020 |
23 |
Dipolog |
60,193,212 |
No website |
24 |
Marawi |
58,765,509 |
No website |
25 |
Cabadbaran |
57,091,162 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
26 |
Ozamiz |
56,225,838 |
No website |
27 |
Isabela |
56,095,135 |
As of 31 May 2020 |
28 |
Tandag |
52,948,575 |
None as of 3 Sept 2020 |
29 |
Lamitan |
52,780,109 |
Site under maintenance (3 Sept 2020) |
30 |
Oroquieta |
50,857,748 |
As of July 2020 |
31 |
Tacurong |
48,330,974 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
32 |
Tangub |
43,733,090 |
Cannot be accessed |
33 |
El Salvador |
35,799,144 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
BAYANIHAN GRANT FOR MINDANAO PROVINCES
Source: Department of Budget and Management
Amounts represent half a month’s IRA share
No. |
Province |
Bayanihan Grant |
Fund utilization reports posted on website |
1. |
Bukidnon |
125,220,588 |
Page provided but no entry as of 3 Sept 2020 |
2 |
Lanao del Sur |
117,976,609 |
Site unavailable as of 3 Sept 2020 |
3. |
North Cotabato |
116,698,482 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
4. |
Maguindanao |
101,081,053 |
No website |
5. |
Zamboanga del Norte |
93,935,198 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
6, |
Agusan del Sur |
94,455,333 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
7. |
Zamboanga del Sur |
80,525,484 |
No website |
8. |
Sultan Kudarat |
76,242,830 |
Website’s message: “Coming soon!!!” |
9. |
Misamis Oriental |
69,010,990 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
10. |
Sulu |
61,860,250 |
Website cannot be accessed |
11. |
Lanao del Norte |
60,163,452 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
12. |
Davao de Oro |
69,544,500 |
April, May, June, July 2020 |
13. |
Zamboanga Sibugay |
61,296,195 |
No website |
14. |
South Cotabato |
74,051,810 |
May, June 2020 |
15. |
Surigao del Sur |
65,967,829 |
No website |
16. |
Davao Oriental |
68,205,631 |
May, June 2020 |
17. |
Sarangani |
57,741,417 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
18. |
Tawi-tawi |
50,818,686 |
Website can’t be accessed as of 3 Sept 2020 |
19. |
Surigao del Norte |
47,617,664 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
20. |
Davao del Norte |
75,627,217 |
May, June, July 2020 |
21. |
Davao del Sur |
54,390,984 |
May, June 2020 |
22. |
Misamis Occidental |
52,651,420 |
No website |
23. |
Agusan del Norte |
46,056,996 |
May, June, July 2020 |
24. |
Basilan |
47,767,193 |
April to June 5, 2020 |
25. |
Davao Occidental |
41,327,787 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
26. |
Dinagat Islands |
28,951,533 |
Website can’t be accessed as of 3 Sept 2020 |
27. |
Camiguin |
23,604,649 |
None posted as of 3 Sept 2020 |
The Bayanihan Grant for Provinces – equivalent to half a month IRA share – is 6.2 billion pesos for all 81 provinces nationwide. For Mindanao’s 27 provinces, the total amount received is 1.8 billion pesos or 30.05% of the national total.
The Bayanihan Grant for Cities – equivalent to a month’s IRA share – is 12.4 billion pesos for all 145 cities. For Mindanao’s 33 cities, the total amount received is 3.14 billion pesos or 25.3% of the national total.
The Bayanihan Grant for Municipalities is 18.4 billion pesos nationwide. For Mindanao’s 422 towns, the total amount received is 5.5 billion pesos or 29.9% of the national total. The Bayanihan Grant for Municipalities is also equivalent to one month IRA share.
Residents in Mindanao’s 27 prvoinces, 33 cities and 422 towns can check the websites of their areas or “three conspicuous places” where the reports are supposed to be posted at the end of each month. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)