2023 national budget to undergo House scrutiny
WITH the submission of the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023, the House of Representatives is committed to working “double time” to scrutinize the government’s spending program and ensure that it is responsive to the needs of the people, House Majority Leader, and Zamboanga 2nd District Representative Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe said Monday.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), led by Secretary Amenah Pangadaman, formally turned over Monday Malacañang’s proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) which hopes to “fund programs and projects that will transform the country’s economy towards inclusivity and sustainability.”
According to Dalipe, the House leadership led by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez is very impressed with the swift but well-organized presentation of the NEP, but the real challenge would be going through the finer details of the government’s spending program.
To ensure the budget process will not be snagged by unnecessary delays, Dalipe said that the House leadership, through the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Rules, has agreed to work out a system to ensure that the proposed budget is passed on time.
Dalipe said that as Chair of the Committee on Rules, he has organized three teams composed of deputy majority leaders and assistant majority leaders to ensure the smooth and seamless flow of discussion once the budget is brought to the plenary.
He is also closely working with Appropriations chair Rep. Zaldy Co to ensure that all House members’ concerns are properly addressed.
“We have already coordinated with our teams in the committee on rules. We have prepared three teams (composed of Deputy Majority Leaders and Assistant Majority Leaders), and we are ready for the plenary deliberations on the budget. We are also closely coordinating with the committee on appropriations in order to facilitate our members who would want to fully discuss the budget,” Dalipe said.
Dalipe said the House leadership led by Speaker Romualdez is committed to passing the budget before the end of October and signed by President Marcos Jr. before year-end.
“We only have one thing to do, and that is to pass this budget, the General Appropriations Bill. If there is any law that is required for us to act on and that is the General Appropriations Bill. We have prepared for this, we have arranged the teams, and we will not be remiss in our job to properly scrutinize the budget,” Dalipe said in a media briefing after the formal turnover of the NEP by Pangandaman.
“The Committee on Appropriations has already made the process where pre-budget deliberations are being held so that our parochial concerns will be addressed in the committee hearings, and the policy questions will be addressed in the plenary deliberations,” Dalipe added.
Dalipe said the House leadership is “happy” that the NEP was submitted without any delay and has prioritized five key sectors that directly impact the lives of poor Filipinos.
Given the highest funding is the Education sector with P852.8 billion (from P788.5 billion), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P718.4 billion (from P786.6 billion), the health sector (Department of Health and Philhealth) with P296.3 billion (from P268.4 billion), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) with P197 billion (from P205 billion) and Agriculture with P184.1 billion (from P132.2 billion).
