THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) is discontinuing projects with an aggregate budget of P295 million to redirect the funds to the government’s COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) response.
The agency tasked to power rural communities took the recommendation of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to halt some programs to generate the said amount.
NEA committed to dropping the rollout of financial grants amounting to P250 million to electric cooperatives for post-disaster rehabilitation under Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11039, or the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF) Act. It has allotted P500 million to implement the funding program this year.
It also suspended the allocation of P10.9 million to power local government unit and non-government organizations resettlement sites, as it saw the projects are no longer feasible for completion within the year.
R.A. No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act authorizes President Rodrigo R. Duterte to suspend Executive-led agencies’ programs, activities, or projects whose allotments are unobligated and to add these funds on the government’s efforts against COVID-19.
Recently, NEA turned over P1.35 billion of unused subsidies and dividends to the Bureau of the Treasury to contribute to the government’s COVID-19 relief operations. — Adam J. Ang
