DFA defends budget plea

The department has asked P15 billion for expansion targets but the DBM gave only P3.6 billion

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday asked the House of Representatives for some P8 billion additional budget to the P22.55 billion it originally proposed for next year.

During the budget deliberations before the House Committee on Appropriations, DFA Assitant Secretary for Fiscal Management Services Myla Macahilig said the agency will be receiving just .55 percent of the total P4.1 trillion national budget.

This despite the DFA ranking 6th among the government’s top fee collecting agencies averaging P2.35 billion in yearly collection from 2015 up to 2017.

Macahilig said that although the agency budget has increased by 10 percent or by P2 billion from last year, the amount is still miniscule as bulk of the agency’s budget will go to capital outlay intended for the retrofitting of DFA’s 50-year-old building.

The department has asked P15 billion for expansion targets but the Department of Budget and Management gave only P3.6 billion, Macahilig also reported.

According to the agency, it needs more than P699.383 million to fund six foreign service posts to be opened in Sweden, Morocco, Spain, Japan, Australia and Turkey and P69.045 million for four consular offices located in Antique, Tarlac, Zamboanga del Sur and Olongapo.

It also needs P8 billion for the opening of new consular offices with an appropriation of P141.789 million, P727.383 million for the building fund projects and P150,487 million for the rent of chancery .

It is also asking for the restoration of its budget for Information Communications Technology projects amounting to P119.652 million, for additional personnel in home office P42.105 million and for additional personnel in foreign service posts P684.987 million.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged the committee to augment the budget of the DFA as he noted that the agency is on the forefront of helping overseas Filipino workers.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. the country has filed about 60 diplomatic protests against China.

“Since the beginning of the Duterte administration in 2016, the department has issued 39 notes verbale. Of these, 39 received responses of notes verbale from China. Under my tenure, the department has issued 24 notes verbale,” Locsin added.