Finance Sec. Dominguez Explains ‘Wala Tayong Pera’ Remark of Duterte

Dominguez clarifies Duterte’s ‘wala tayong pera’ remark

Carlos Dominguez III, the secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF) explained the “wala tayong pera” remark of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a virtual forum, Dominguez clarified the recent statement of the president himself that the country no longer has any money.

“In government kasi, in government, you have cash and you have budget. Even though we have the cash, we can only spend what the legislator allows us to spend so we have a budget,” he said.

Early this year, Duterte signed into law the P4.1-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2020, with the Department of Education having the biggest budget of 654.6 billion.

“Wala tayong pera ngayon,” said Duterte according to a report published by GMA Network.

His statement was in relation to the government’s call to acquire radios among far-flung places for blended learning.

But on Wednesday, Secretary Dominguez clarified that the country has the cash but there are budgetary constraints.

“Our budget for this year is P4.1 trillion, but we certainly have the cash. Unfortunately, we don’t have the budget space so we are making do with what we can,” Dominguez said.

“The other consideration also is that like any household, we cannot spend more than what we earn and that is called a deficit. That is what you spend more than taxes,” he added.

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