BUDGET INTERPELLATION QUESTIONS FOR DILG Notable Items/Areas in the Budget PNP: According to the NEP, 76.6% of the 2022 proposed budget (P190.32 billion) will go to the PNP
Issues
Questions
According to the COA AAR What has been the response 2020, P604.853 million of the Department? funds transferred by PNP to - Has it acted upon the PITC for the procurement of recommendations of machinery and equipment the COA? have remained outstanding - It has been 4 years. for 4 years. This undermines How can the the objective of engaging the department explain services of PITC and the late response? procuring the equipment. Moreover, an outstanding balance of P140.275 million funds transferred to National Computer Center (NCC) remains unimplemented and outstanding for more than 10 years due to unresolved issues between the PNP and NCC.
Congestion in Detention COA state auditors noted Centers and other Issues that the BJMP had in detention, as of 31 December 2020, a total of 115,336 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) which is glaringly beyond the ideal population of 34,893. The COA, in its annual report, said that the “403 percent congestion rate is still way beyond the accepted standards set by the United Nations.” It added that these conditions greatly affect the morale and disposition of PDLs considering that they are not yet convicted and are presumed innocent.”
Why has the PNP failed to address/resolve its issue with NCC? How can the PNP explain the delay of 10 years? (given that COA has reiterated this in their annual reports)
May we know how the BJMP plans to address severe congestion of our jails especially when overcrowding poses a huge risk for the outbreak of infections? Are there plans on building new detainment facilities under BJMP in order to decongest jails? Will there be another direct allocation of financial resources this time for the immunization of PDLs against the virus?
Can the program also Despite this, at the 01 prioritize the October 2021 Senate hearing implementation of the ALS of the Committee on program inside jails? Finance, Director Allan Iral of the BJMP revealed that
there is no money allotted in the 2021 budget proposal of the Department to build new jails and they were only given budget for perimeter fences. Aside from these healthrelated issues, it is also important to promote a rehabilitative incarceration system in our jails. To do this, the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program should once again be prioritized.
Contact Tracing
In November 2020, the IATF made the use of the StaySafe.ph contact tracing application mandatory for national government agencies and local governments amid concerns about the privacy of the collected data.1
What is the status of our contact tracing efforts? Are each LGU’s respective contact tracing programs and applications being integrated into a centralized database as the DILG had earlier promised?
In March 2021, no less than Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque admitted that contact tracing remains to be the weakest link in the government’s COVID-19 response.2
Have the issues of the StaySafe app been adequately resolved? To date, how many LGUs have transitioned to the Staysafe App from their own localized contact tracing applications?
In March 2021, The DILG renewed its call to all local government units (LGUs) and the general public to use and patronize the StaySafe.Ph boost the country’s contact tracing program3. The DILG also urged that LGUs’ contact tracing apps be integrated with StaySafe.ph for more effective and efficient contact tracing efforts.
How many more LGUs have yet to transition to the StaySafe app? Why have they yet to transition? What is being done to ensure that these LGU’s comply with the DILG’s mandate to transition to the StaySafe App?
1
Is contact tracing still the weakest link in our pandemic response
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1406010/palace-contact-tracing-weakest-point-in-ph-response Ibid. 3 https://iotbusiness-platform.com/insights/dilg-to-lgus-public-use-staysafe-ph-app-to-boost-contacttracing-philippine-information-agency/ 2
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However, in a Senate hearing in late August 2021, DOH Secretary Duque said the benefits of the StaySafe app have limitations and have “almost no impact.”4
4
What more needs to be done to strengthen our contact tracing efforts?
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1479096/maybe-duque-was-not-updated-on-staysafe-app-dilg-exec
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