Duterte’s austerity measures not new

Some government austerity measures in line with President Duterte’s order of simple living are nothing new and had long been practiced in the bureaucracy, making its impact on revenues almost negligible.

Topping the list was the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)’s order to “get rid of and abstain” from using luxury cars under Budget Circular 2016-5 issued Aug. 22.

“The present administration has vowed to be more prudent in the use of public funds,” the circular said.

But upon checking, the ban on luxury cars had been in place since the Arroyo administration back in 2010, while the Aquino government was found to have not utilized any type of vehicle as well.

“The ban had long been in place,” the DBM public infor- mation unit ( PIU) told The STAR.

“There is also no record of luxury cars being used by the previous administration since 2010,” it said yesterday.

The DBM acts as a recommending authority on the purchase of government vehicles. Its recommendation will then be subject to approval of agency heads or Cabinet secretaries.

In the case of offices under Malacañang, DBM said the Office of the President approves such requests. The DBM said it does not have an inventory of government vehicles.

“The approving authority are the agencies so they will have the numbers,” the agency’s PIU said.

Another order came from the Department of Finance ( DOF), which mandates attached offices to use the Ayuntamiento Building in Intramuros, Manila to hold meetings for a “minimal fee.”

The building is occupied by the Bureau of the Treasury, the government’s cash repository.

“We were told that the Treasury will no longer leave Ayuntamiento so we can use its facilities,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said in a phone interview.

National Treasurer Roberto Tan said in a text message the building was being “considered for privatization” under the Aquino government, which could have raised additional revenues.

Since the start of the year, the DOF’s sixth floor housing four conference venues is undergoing renovation, but even then Beltran said the agency was able to use meeting rooms in other floors.

“There are rooms available for us in each floor. We use them,” he said.

Even before he got elected, Duterte has said officials under his government would have to embrace simple lifestyles by riding sedans and riding economy, instead of business class, for official trips.

A specific policy on government plane rides is yet to be issued.

But Emilio Neri Jr., lead economist at Bank of the Philippine Islands, said savings to be generated from these measures are “not likely to create a dent” in revenues.

“At the most, I think they want to portray an image of austerity in the government as they increase spending,” Neri said in a separate phone interview.