By Charissa Luci-Atienza In anticipation of an extended lockdown, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to submit its proposal to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) seeking to realign or reallocate its funds to help strengthen the government's social amelioration response to the COVID-19 pandemic. DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista expressed the department's readiness to reallocate or realign funds intended for projects set to be implemented for the first semester. "Pinag-aaralan na ng economic managers kung paano kukuha sa iba't ibang budget ng gobyerno kung sakaling ma-extend pa ng May or after two months. Kaya nga ang economic managers ay tuloy-tuloy ang kanilang pag-aaral, dahil apparently talagang kailangan masuportahan ang ating kababayan kung mai-extend ito beyond May," he said in the recent "Laging Handa" network briefing. (Our economic managers are studying how to source funds from the different budget of government should the lockdown be extended until May or after two months. That is why our economic managers continue to study this because apparently our people really need to be given assistance if this will be extended until May.) "In fact, sa DSWD meron na kaming proposal na ipapasa sa ating DBM para binigyan namin ng priority kung ano ang irre-align namin para makasuporta sa COVID crisis," Bautista said. (In fact, in the DSWD, we have a proposal to be submitted to the DBM to prioritize those project funds that should realigned to support the against the COVID crisis.) He noted that under Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, the budget realignment in government agencies is allowed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. RA 11496 authorizes President Duterte to "reprogram, reallocate, and realign from savings on other items of appropriations in the Fiscal Year 2020 GAA in the Executive Department, as may be necessary and beneficial to fund measures to address and respond to the COVID-19 emergency, including social amelioration for affected communities, and the recovery and the recovery of areas, sectors, and industries severely affected." "All amounts so reprogrammed, reallocated, or realigned shall be deemed automatically appropriated for such measures to address the COVID-19 situation," the law further states. "Kung ano na ang mga budget na hindi namin mai-implement for the first semester, ayun na i-prayoridad na ma-realign at ma-reallocate para masuportahan itong COVID crisis natin," Bautista said. (The funds that we cannot implement for the first semester, those will be prioritized for realignment and reallocation to support the country's response to the COVID crisis.) He said they were also directed to first liquidate the P100 billion allocated for the first tranche of emergency subsidies before they download the funds to the local government units (LGUs) for the second tranche of cash assistance to be distributed in May. Bautista said the DBM has given them P196 billion for the implementation of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). "Ang usapan dun ay iki-clear muna ang P100 billion na pinamahagi sa LGUs bago ipapamahagi ulit ang pangalawang tranche by month of May," he said. (The agreement was that the P100 billion which was distributed to the LGUs should be cleared first before the distribution of the second tranche by the month of May.) In the briefing, Bautista said necessary charges will be filed against unqualified beneficiaries who claimed the emergency subsidies, and the concerned barangay officials behind the inclusion of their names in the list of beneficiaries. "Pagka na-validate po na talagang hindi sila eligible, unang-una ay kailangan ibalik nila 'yung pera, pero hindi ibig sabihin noon na nakaligtas na sila sa criminal liabilities. Naandon pa rin 'yung pwede silang ihabla para pasagutin dun sa ginawa nilang hindi tama," he said. (If after validation they were found to be ineligible, first of all, they need to return the money, but that doesn't mean they are spared from criminal liabilities. They may still be charged for their misdeeds.) "Mananagot din 'yung mga barangay officials dahil pinabayaan nila na merong magkaroon ng mga tao doon na hindi nararapat na makasama," Bautista said. (Barangay officials will also be held liable because they allowed unqualified beneficiaries to be included.) For the sake of transparency, Bautista said the DSWD will publicly disclose the names of SAP beneficiaries on the DSWD website as proposed by Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III. He also threw his support behind the Department of the Interior and Local Government's directive to LGUs to publicly post the list of target SAP beneficiaries.