The Energy Regulatory Commission's proposed funds for 2021, approved by the budget department, amount to P543.8 million. It initially asked for P1.1 billion.
It is unclear how much exactly is the adjusted ERC budget for this year, as the DBM has yet to disclose the adjusted department and agency budgets to the public.
For 2021, the bulk of the budget cut came from the ERC's maintenance and other operating expenditures, where the commission sources its payment for JO and COS workers, as well as consultants. The DBM slashed 85.54% of the commission's item for professional services – from this year's P197 million to P28.55 million.Now, the ERC is asking Congress for an increase of P405.9 million or a total budget of about P970 million.
"We will not also be able to hire sufficient number of personnel to be able to deliver on our mandate. We will not be able to provide for consultancy services [for agencies being regulated]," she added.Some lawmakers who attended the hearing support a bigger ERC budget for next year.
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