Former Secretaries of the Department of Finance (DOF) said they support the DOF’s move to utilize excess funds of government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) to finance government projects in health, education, social services, and infrastructure.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, former Secretaries Cesar Virata, Roberto de Ocampo, Jose Pardo, Alberto Romulo, Jose Isidro Camacho, Margarito Bustaliño Teves, and Cesar Purisima said mobilizing GOCCs’ excess funds for public projects will help strengthen the Philippine economy and ensure long-term gains through more jobs, higher incomes, and reduced poverty.

“We believe this move will bring substantial benefits to the Filipino people,” they said.

“As past DOF Secretaries, we are acutely aware of the heavy responsibility the DOF bears in funding the nation’s dreams and aspirations for the Filipino people. We have firsthand experience with the underlying challenges and difficulties of generating sufficient revenues to fund critical initiatives that support economic growth,” they added.

The DOF earlier said that based on its cost-benefit analysis, the projects to be funded under the Unprogrammed Appropriations will hike real gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.7 percent, increase an additional PHP23 billion to PHP24.4 billion in revenues, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“In our view, it is in the public’s best interest for a portion of excess GOCC funds to be mobilized efficiently, rather than imposing additional taxes or increasing public debt that would burden future generations. The taxpayers are effectively paying interest on these idle, unused funds that are benefiting no one,” the former secretaries said.

According to them, responsible public financing also requires considering opportunity costs, adding that if unused funds are left dormant, the potential benefits are lost.

“Every unused peso represents development denied for Filipinos. The cost of delaying crucial projects is a burden our people cannot afford – diminished public services, slower growth, more debt, and higher deficits,” they said.

“No responsible DOF Secretary would allow such an outcome. We are confident that under the astute leadership of Secretary Ralph G. Recto, these unused public funds will be managed with the utmost diligence and prudence, for the greater good of the nation,” they added.

Recto earlier clarified that the use of PhilHealth’s unutilized funds to finance projects under the Unprogrammed Appropriations is in line with Republic Act 11975 or the General Appropriations Act 2024, which was approved by the Congress.

He said the DOF first reviewed and studied the provision to determine its merit, assessing if it will help in growing the economy.

The DOF also consulted the Governance Commission for GOCCs and sought the legal opinions of the Government Corporate Counsel and the Commission on Audit to ensure full compliance with the law.

Recto said the DOF received favorable legal opinions on the matter and was advised that PhilHealth’s PHP89.9 billion unutilized government subsidies are not part of its reserve funds, nor income that is being restricted by the Universal Health Care Act to be used by the national government as a general fund. (PNA)