The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) clarified Tuesday that additional funding for government agencies’ disaster efforts comes from dedicated sources, not the controversial unprogrammed funds.

The clarification follows the DBM’s recent approval of a P740.834-million replenishment for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of National Defense-Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman stated that the money is sourced from the nearly 30 billion pesos available in the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund (NDRRMF) and the quick-response funds (QRF) inserted in front-line agencies’ budgets.

“There’s QRF at NDRRMF that’s almost P30 billion yearly and QRF which are inserted in our frontliner departments,” Pangandaman said.

Pangandaman added that the President’s contingency funds can also be used. Unprogrammed appropriations (UA) — a budget item recently scrutinized by lawmakers — are only tapped if no other sources are available.

“You need to have extra revenue before you can release it,” Pangandaman stressed, explaining that the UA can only be used if “triggers” are met, which includes securing additional revenue.

The UA came under fire during recent budget deliberations, when House Rep. Chel Diokno sought to reduce the proposed P243-billion unprogrammed budget in the 2026 national budget to zero. That proposal was rejected, however, due to prior commitments to multilateral and bilateral partners.

In a separate event, Pangandaman also highlighted the DBM’s commitment to ensuring the national budget reflects the diverse needs of women and girls, emphasizing the role of gender-responsive budgeting in achieving inclusive and sustainable development.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day Philippine Conference on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), Pangandaman underscored the importance of listening to diverse experiences to develop a holistic approach to the WPS agenda.

“At the national level, our goal is to ensure that WPS is not merely included in our priorities, but also placed in front and center among the most urgent issues of our time,” she said.

Pangandaman cited that achieving inclusive development requires proper investment and timely, meaningful implementation of Gender and Development (GAD) allocations. She announced that the DBM is collaborating with the Philippine Commission on Women to develop a gender accountability dashboard, a digital tool to track how agencies utilize their GAD allocations.