House opens 2023 budget debates

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THE House of Representatives today opens deliberations on the proposed

P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 with a briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on the state of the economy and the macro-economic parameters that the executive branch used in drawing up next year’s national expenditure program (NEP).

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority, and Governor Felipe Medalla of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will brief the House committee on appropriations and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

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The budget deliberation kicks off four days after President Marcos Jr. submitted the proposed “Agenda for Prosperity” national budget for 2023 to the House of Representatives.

Romualdez assured his colleagues and the public that the House, in considering and approving the 2023 national budget, would “effectively respond to the needs of the people, especially in addressing the continued impact of the health crisis, and in creating more jobs and ensuring food security.”

He also vowed that the budget process would be transparent.

“The budget will be a product of the entire House of Representatives, where the majority will listen to the minority’s concerns and of course, we as the representatives of the people, will also be attuned to their needs. This budget basically represents the hope of the future and the agenda for prosperity in the country this coming 2023,” Romualdez said.

He said the House would ensure that “every centavo of the national budget will be spent wisely to implement programs that would save lives, protect communities and make our economy strong and more agile.”

The Speaker said the House will stick to its self-imposed deadline of approving the budget on or before September 30.

Congress is scheduled to go on its first recess on October 1 and will resume session on November 6.

Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chair of the committee on appropriations, said the panel aims to finish its hearings by September 16 to give lawmakers two weeks for plenary deliberations and approval of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

The 2023 outlay is 4.9 percent higher than this year’s budget.

The economic team’s goal is to achieve 6.5 to 8.0 percent real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth annually between 2023 to 2028 to attain a 9.0 percent poverty rate by 2028.

The education sector, which is composed of the Department of Education (DepEd), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will receive an 8.2 percent increase next year at P852.8 billion and will remain as being the highest budgetary priority as mandated by the Constitution.

The budget of the DepEd was increased to P710.6 billion in 2023 from P633.3 billion in 2022.

On the issue concerning the supposed cut in the proposed appropriation for the University of the Philippines and the UP-PGH, Budget Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran said the observation is wrong, in a way, because they are comparing the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) with the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA).”

“The seeming decrease of P2.5 billion in UP’s budget in the 2023 NEP as compared to 2022 is attributable to the upward adjustments made by Congress in the 2022 GAA (General Appropriations Act) for various capital outlay projects for infrastructure projects and purchase of hospital equipment for the Philippine General Hospital, which are one-time or non-recurring expenditures,” Libiran said.

She added: “Please note that the DBM takes into consideration the budget utilization rate of any government institution prior to budget allocation in the proposed NEP. Hence, in our review and evaluation of UP’s budget proposals, we considered its absorptive capacity, which is 66% as of end-2021. Rest assured that the education sector shall remain as being the highest budgetary priority of this administration as mandated by the Constitution, with an 8.2 percent increase in the proposed FY 2023 NEP, at Php852.8 billion.”

On the other hand, a total of P1.196 trillion has been allocated for the government’s 2023 infrastructure programs.

The Department of Public Works and Highway will receive a P718.4 budget in 2023, while the Department of Transportation was earmarked P167.1 billion or an increase by 120.4 percent from its P75.8 billion budget in 2022, which covers the augmented funding requirements for various foreign-assisted railway projects.

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Major transportation infrastructure projects that will be implemented include the North-South Commuter Railway, the Metro Manila Subway Phase 1, the LRT-1 Cavite Extension, and the PNR South Long Haul.

In a bid to ramp up vaccination efforts and the uptake of boosters for our vulnerable population while strengthening our health system through improvement of health facilities and services, the government’s health sector shall receive a 10.4 percent budget increase at P296.3 billion in 2023, inclusive of the budgets of the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

Around P29 billion has been allocated to purchase drugs, medicines, and vaccines while more than P19 billion has been allocated for the salary and benefits of healthcare workers.

P23 billion, meanwhile, has been allotted for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), which will fund the purchase of medical equipment as well as the construction, rehabilitation and upgrading of barangay health stations, rural health units, polyclinics, LGU hospitals, DOH hospital, and other various health facilities nationwide.

To improve the performance of the agriculture sector, the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA), its attached corporations, and the Department of Agrarian Reform will be P184.1 billion, a 39.2 percent increase from its 2022 allocation, which includes P29.5 billion for irrigation services.

To address the needs of the marginalized and vulnerable sectors of society, the Department of Social Welfare and Development was allocated with a P197 billion budget in 2023. The government shall likewise continue to fully support the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances, Sustainable Livelihood Program, and the Supplementary Feeding Program.

P18.4 billion of the total P26.2 billion budget for the Department of Labor and Employment will be used to implement its Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program, to help beneficiaries recover from the economic displacement caused by the pandemic, including the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program, among others.

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