Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The House of Representatives is ready to receive Malacañan’s proposed P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the money measure “is the most important piece of legislation” as he assured the people that “every centavo of the national budget will be spent wisely by ensuring that spending will contribute to economic and national development.”
Under the Constitution, all money measures of the national government emanate from the House.
“We will set clear priorities to arrive at decisions that would further promote sustainable growth aimed at uplifting the lives of Filipino people, enhancing public services, and making our economy strong and more agile,” Romualdez said.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is expected to submit to Congress the 2024 National Expenditures Program anytime next week.
The proposed national government budget for 2024 is equivalent to 21.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and is 9.5 percent higher than this year’s P5.268 trillion budget.
As in the previous year, Romualdez said that the chamber “will expeditiously scrutinize, deliberate, and pass the national budget through a transparent process.”
“Like last year, we will get the widest consensus on our spending plan among our members.
Its approval is very crucial in maintaining stability and facilitating the seamless implementation of government programs and projects. It has significant implications for the country’s progress and development.”
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman earlier said the proposed 2024 NEP shall continue to prioritize expenditures that will sustain economic growth bearing in mind inclusivity and sustainability, consistent with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, and the administration’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda.
“Guided by our Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, the proposed national budget will continue to prioritize expenditures outlined in the administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and cater to the objectives of PDP 2023-2028. It shall continue to reflect our commitment to pursue economic and social transformation to address the scarring effects of the pandemic, as well as the impact of inflation, by prioritizing shovel-ready investments in infrastructure projects, investments in human capital development, and sustainable agriculture and food security, among others,” Pangandaman said in a statement.
She said the 2024 NEP “is crafted as an indispensable step towards the overarching goal to attain upper-middle-income status while bringing down the deficit to 3 percent of GDP and reducing the poverty rate to 9 percent or single digit by 2028.”
She disclosed earlier that the DBM received a total of P5.90 trillion in budget proposals for fiscal year 2024, “which were thoroughly evaluated considering several factors such as the agencies’ budget utilization rates in the past years, and the alignment of their programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) with the priorities outlined in the Budget Priorities Framework.”
Romualdez earlier committed that the House will pass the budget on final reading before Congress goes on a Halloween break on October 1.
“We average five weeks of solid work on budget deliberations, consideration, review, and approval through the Third Reading. So we are confident with the processes and protocols and procedures that we have that we can finish the national 2024 budget. That is the most important piece of legislation,” he earlier said.
The budget, Romualdez said, “aims to sustain the country’s economic growth, create more income and job opportunities for the people and improve their quality of life through the timely delivery of basic social services like education, health care, and infrastructure.”
During the deliberation on next year’s spending program, Congress would look into how the annual budget is being used and how laws, particularly the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, are being implemented.
“The emancipation law lifted the debt burden of our farmers. In other words, our farmers are exempted from their unsettled amortizations in the acquisition of their lots. We think that is one of the cornerstones of our President’s legislative agenda,” Romualdez said.
“We in the Congress would have to oversee if it is properly implemented so we could help our farmers become productive for them to also help us lower the prices of commodities, such as rice, vegetables, and sugar. We are excited to work on this,” he added.
Under the Constitution, the NEP must be submitted to Congress within 30 days after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President. President Marcos delivered his second SONA last July 24.
The NEP is the national government’s spending plan for the next fiscal year. Once approved by Congress, it will be known as the General Appropriations Bill, and once passed into law, the bill will be known as the General Appropriations Act. — Maricel Cruz
*****
Credit belongs to : www.manilastandard.net
