Budget/Finance - National Agricultural and Fishery Council ...

implementation phase. A good example is the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF), a lump sum fund whose disbursements are under
Congressional prerogative. The bulk of PDAF go to the construction and
repairs of farm-to-market roads, post-harvest facilities and other AFMArelated
activities or projects. However, the estimated amounts are not
reflected as part of the AFMA budget appropriations in the GAA. Recordings
of expenditures are done after the fact in the BESF as obligations incurred
under the AFMA. In this connection, the expenditures budget was used in this
study. A table showing the comparisons of the budget shortfalls/excesses
using the new appropriations and the expenditures figures over the amount
prescribed under the law was presented in this study.
Financial Data Gathering Limitations
No regular reports submissions
4.6.4 At this juncture it is important to note that the DA is mandated to
“submit to the Senate Committee on Finance, the House Committee on
Appropriations and the COCAFM a consolidated quarterly financial and
narrative report on the implementation of the AFMA”. 1 However, findings
showed the lack of compliance to this in so far as regular quarterly reporting
to the COCAFM is concerned. Copies of the DA Annual Reports are
submitted to COCAFM.
Differences in budget data reported by DBM vs. DA and DAR
4.6.5 The Consultant also discovered that the records of DBM did not tally
with those of the DA and DAR in terms of the reported appropriations,
obligations and actual cash disbursements over time. And, there are no efforts
to date to reconcile the reported figures.
4.6.6 GAA version of DA for AFMA vary with that of the DBM because DBM
includes all items which DA claims are not within its concern. For example,
the DA AFMA budget computations exclude most items recorded under the
2005 General Appropriations Act Section XXXVI-B (State Universities &
Colleges); C (PCAFNRRD); D (Budgetary Support to GOCCs except PCA)
and E (Allocations to Local Government Units) except for the Southern
Philippines Irrigation Sector Project, Mindanao Rural Development Program
under the MDF, and the Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource
Management Project under the LGEF. According to DA, reconciliation of
figures will only be possible through analysis of each individual special
allotment release orders (SARO) issued by DBM against those received by
DA, which is a long and tedious process. On the other hand, according to
DAR there is no special Agrarian Reform Fund particularly intended for AFMA
1 General Appropriations Act. Special provisions for the establishment and utilization of the
AFMP Special Purpose Fund.
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