Finally, Here's a Breakdown of Government’s P275 Billion COVID-19 Fund

The details of the P275 billion emergency fund for COVID-19 have been summarized in a document titled “Report to the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee Pursuant to Section 5 of Republic Act No. 11469, Otherwise Known as the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” and dated March 30.

Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the President is required to report to Congress the plans on how he will allocate and spend the emergency funds he was given for its pandemic response.

The report also bares how various departments have realigned their released budgets for the COVID-19 response. For example, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will use its released allotment intended for its National Science and Technology Agenda program to accommodate the P53-million requirement for 1,300 COVID-19 testing kits good for 26,000 tests, delivery, training, and genome sequencing.

Similarly, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will make use of their existing released allotment to accommodate their COVID-19 response activities.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has also prepared an initial master list of unreleased appropriations under its special purpose funds or SPFs estimated at P373 billion.

You can view the complete report on the government's budget breakdown for its COVID-19 response here.

Meanwhile, a privately initiated budget tracker on the government’s COVID-19 response was created through Google Sheets. The budget tracker monitors how emergency funds are being spent by the government. You can view the COVID-19 budget tracker here.