SECRETARY Emmanuel Piñol Thursday said the Department of Agriculture is implementing a strict policy on fund utilization as it reflects efficient delivery of basic services to the public.
In his speech during the 11th National Shrimp Congress at SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City Thursday, November 16, Piñol noted that the agency has to utilize its allocation per quarter, or else what remains will be returned to the National Treasury.
“When you underspend, you do not only waste government money. It also means that you failed to deliver services to the people,” he said.
The DA will have a budget of P60 billion in 2018. The amount will be divided into four tranches, usually per quarter.
The Agriculture chief said the money is deposited in the agency's accounts.
The remaining allocations in a year will serve as underspending, he said.
Piñol said that, at present, he had already relieved top officials at the agency because of failing to maximize the allocated budget for every quarter.
“I am not proud of it. I am sad but I have to do this because I cannot allow government funds to be returned to the National Treasury," he added.
Credit support
During the opening of the three-day congress, Piñol turned over the check worth P20 million to the Negros Cooperative Bank as credit support to farmers and fisherfolk in the province.
The assistance, released through the agency's Production Loan Easy Access (Plea) program, will cover beneficiaries from towns and cities of the Sixth District.
Under the Plea program, each farming and fishing household can avail of P5,000 to P50,000 worth of loan with six percent interest, no collateral and payable in one to two years.
Piñol reiterated that in Ilog, he was told that for every P1,000 loan, the farmer pays back the same amount plus three sacks of rice.
“Financing is one of the three major things that the DA is focusing on now. The other two are technology and marketing," he added.