THE nation will start a new year a week from now with a P5.268-trillion national budget already passed by Congress and signed into law by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
It is the first annual spending bill that the President signed, and in its implementation lies the answer to the question of whether the Marcos administration will be off to a good start in 2023.
The budget measure, now that it is a law, is officially known as the General Appropriations Act of 2023, and it is expected that it passed the President’s legal vetting and scrutiny, the same way that previous presidents like Rodrigo Duterte did in their time.
Marcos has found three provisions that deserve his veto in the 2023 national budget, pointing out that they are unrelated and could amend substantive laws.
‘The Palace said the new national budget “gives muscle” to the road map the administration intends to implement next year. We can only hope for the best.’
Included in the vetoed provisions were the establishment of a revolving fund for the DepEd TV of the Department of Education (DepEd), the use of income of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and the Department of Tourism’s slogan and marketing campaign.
In his veto message, the President said there is no law authorizing the DepEd to establish a revolving fund for the purpose.
“Moreover, the DepEd TV is not a business-type activity of the DepEd, which may be considered within the contemplation of the General Provision on Revolving Funds in the FY 2023 GAA, which permits the establishment of a revolving fund from receipts derived from business-type activities,” Marcos said.
In the case of the NLRC, Marcos said income accruing to the agencies by virtue of the provisions of the law, orders and regulations shall be deposited in the National Treasury or in any duly authorized government depository and shall accrue to the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund of the government.
The Chief Executive also noted that “the NLRC is not granted authority to use its income under existing laws,” stressing that the funding requirements for the operations of the NLRC are already fully provided under its budget under this Act.
In the case of the DOT provision, the President supported the use of the department’s budget to change the tourism campaign slogan, hoping that this would serve as a catalyst for an even better growth in the tourism industry.
In the three vetoed provisions, we hope the President made use of his veto power judiciously.
The Palace said the new national budget “gives muscle” to the road map the administration intends to implement next year. We can only hope for the best.
