Police vehicles purchase greenlit 

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allowed the purchase of police motor vehicles worth P396.37 million.

On Sept. 10, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman signed the request for the issuance of an Authority to Purchase Motor Vehicles (APMV), DBM said in a statement on Thursday.

It will be used to buy 402 units of vehicles under the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Philippine National Police (DILG-PNP).

The authorization covers the procurement of 40 patrol jeep 4×2, 115 personnel carrier 4×4, 40 light transport vehicles, 10 PNP vans, 183 light motorcycles, and 14 EOD vehicles, according to the DBM.

Meanwhile, the DBM clarified that it has fully transmitted requested funds to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) for the establishment and maintenance of treatment and rehabilitation facilities nationwide.

“For fiscal year 2025 and past years, DDB did not submit any budget proposals to increase the programmed expenditure in the amount of ₱77 million under the SAGF (Special Account on the General Fund),” it said in another statement.

According to the DBM, agencies must include in its proposal the total annual requirements needed for their purpose to be included in the National Expenditure Program.

This came after Senator Ronald M. Dela Rosa flagged the DBM for not remitting in transmit in full a nearly P127-million fund from collections of revenue generating agencies meant to support the drug rehabilitation centers. — Beatrice Marie D. Cruz