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Senate slashes P49B from DOTr's 2021 budget to boost fund for COVID-19 vaccine: Poe

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/10/13/20200930-pasay-relief-distribution-gc-1928.jpg"/><figcaption>Jeepney drivers from different routes in Pasay City.<em> George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday said the Senate reduced the Department of Transportation&#x27;s budget by some P49 billion and realigned the sum to boost the fund for COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic-response projects.</p><p>Under the 2021 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the DOTr was supposed to receive about P143 billion, but lawmakers &quot;trimmed it down&quot; to P94 billion, Poe told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.</p><p>&quot;The reason why we trimmed the budget of the DOTr is, it has had a track record of having difficulty utilizing or absorbing their budget and actually spending it,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;Most of those projects that they lodged in the DOTr was for rail, and seeing the face of what they needed for that, and the demand on other things, like COVID response, we thought that the DOTr won&#x27;t be able to spend it anyway next year,&quot; she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/12/02/20/dotr-has-no-plans-to-curb-public-transport-this-month-consultant">DOTr has no plans to curb public transport this month: consultant</a></li></ul><p>The realignment allowed the Senate to increase the budget for COVID-19 vaccines to P83 billion from the original P5 billion allotment, Poe said.</p><p>The budget for contact tracing, COVID-19 testing, personal protective equipment, and cash aid for medical frontliners also increased thanks to the realignment, the senator added.</p><p>&quot;If we take it out from one department, it’s realigned because of the situation we&#x27;re in, which is COVID,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;I understand the situation of congressmen, they have to answer to their district. So when it comes back to us [in the Senate] and we see, we also have to look at the national picture,&quot; she said.</p><p>Senate Committee on Finance chair Sonny Angara said House members and senators are still in the process of reconciling different provisions in the 2021 spending bill.</p><p>&quot;Just reconciling provisions takes time, and what has been challenging is providing for the things which were not foreseen when the NEP was being prepared --- things which are COVID-related and also funding for additional calamity response,&quot; he said.</p><p>Congress also needs to look for more items that can be realigned to pass new laws &quot;like the Cancer Act, the Medical Scholarships bill, the Mental Health law, the Innovation Act, the National ID, [and] the National Sports Academy law,&quot; he said.</p><p>Congress hopes to finish bicameral discussion on the 2021 budget within the week, he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/26/20/senate-passes-p45-t-2021-national-budget-zeroes-in-on-covid-19-response">Senate passes P4.5-T 2021 national budget; zeroes in on COVID-19 response</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gifVTEGU88M?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday said the Senate reduced the Department of Transportation's budget by some P49 billion and realigned the sum to boost the fund for COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic-response projects.</p>

Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday said the Senate reduced the Department of Transportation's budget by some P49 billion and realigned the sum to boost the fund for COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic-response projects.

Senate slashes P49B from DOTr's 2021 budget to boost fund for COVID-19 vaccine: Poe

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Senate slashes P49B from DOTr's 2021 budget to boost fund for COVID-19 vaccine: Poe

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 08, 2020 07:45 PM PHT

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Updated Dec 08, 2020 08:02 PM PHT

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Grace Poe

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