FACT CHECK: VP Duterte’s claim on Davao City’s COVID-19 funds needs context

Vice President Sara Duterte recently said she did not want a repeat of the situation in 2020 when Davao City had no budget to fund COVID-19 response measures.

This needs context. Even the national government did not have a budget allocation for COVID-19 response when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a pandemic in March 2020.

STATEMENT

Duterte, who was Davao City mayor when the pandemic struck in 2020, spoke at the 39th anniversary gathering of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) in Davao City on Sept. 1. Encouraging the religious group to “not break [up],” she said in a mix of Tagalog and Bisaya:

“Hindi ko na ma-explain sa inyo kung gaano kahirap noong mga panahon na ‘yun na may hinihingi sa iyo na COVID-19 response pero walang budget ang siyudad para pondohan ang mga projects para sa COVID-19 response. Marami masyado TTMF, PPEs, suporta sa mga frontliners, health workers. Ayaw ko nang maulit ‘yun.”

(I cannot explain to you how difficult it was during that time when [I was] asked for a COVID-19 response but the city did not have a budget to fund projects for COVID-19 response. We had to prioritize TTMFs [temporary treatment and monitoring facility], PPEs [personal protective equipment], support for frontliners, health workers. I do not want a repeat of that.)

Source: SMNI Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa Facebook Page, VP Sara’s KOJC anniversary speech w/ Tagalog subs, Sept. 2, 2024, watch from 26:24 to 27:04

FACT

It was not only Davao City that did not have a budget allocation for COVID-19 response when the WHO declared the outbreak as a global pandemic.

Local government units (LGUs) were initially advised to utilize their respective calamity funds to supplement COVID-related spending. Thus, Davao City repurposed its Peace and Order Fund and Crisis Intervention Fund.

Congress then responded to the emergency situation by legislating the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, or Republic Act No. 11649. It authorized LGUs to increase their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Funds (LDRRMF) beyond the legally mandated 5% of their annual budget to jumpstart local COVID-19 initiatives.

Based on reports of the Commission on Audit, Davao City spent at least P509.31 million in COVID-related activities in 2020. The funds were sourced from a government grant and various donations.

After 2020, the city government saw an increase in its LDRRMF, from P483.07 million in 2021 to P618.91 million in 2022.

The supplementary RA No. 11494 or Bayanihan to Recover as One Act passed in September 2020 provided a P1.5 billion grant for LGUs to develop their own COVID-19 initiatives.