By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday assured that the upcoming plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) is fully-funded, rejecting claims made by a House leader that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) failed to allocate funds for it.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., in a privilege speech, claimed that Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno “completely forgot” to include funds for the plebiscite, scheduled on Jan. 21 and Feb. 6, in the proposed 2019 budget.
“Kung walang pondo, e di sana kinansel na ‘yun. Sana ni-reset na yun, pinostpone na but obviously tuloy, so may pondo (If there’s no funds, it should have been canceled. It should have been reset or postponed but obviously it pushed through, so there are funds),” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
“As far as I know, di maaapektuhan ang funds. Nakita ko yung funds. Nakita ko yung report ni Secretary Ben. Yung sa Comelec di maaapektuhan (the funds will not be affected. I saw the funds. I saw the report of Sec. Ben. Funds for the Comelec will not be affected),” he added.
Andaya also claimed that the missing funding for the plebiscite would make it difficult for Filipinos in Mindanao to take the administration’s efforts to achieve long-lasting peace seriously.
However, Panelo described Andaya’s statement as “misplaced” and “without basis”, assuring that there are indeed funds for the plebiscite.
“Baka naman (Perhaps) he was just misinformed that’s why yung (his) statement niya mali rin (is also wrong),” Panelo said.
Andaya said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) needed PHP857 million in holding the plebiscite on the proposed new Bangsamoro entity but this was not included in the proposed PHP10 billion budget of the Comelec this year.
Both Diokno and Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez belied Andaya’s claim, noting that the poll body would use its un-obligated balances from the 2018 budget to fund the plebiscite.
