THE House of Representatives, led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, assured President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the public that it will approve the proposed P5.768-trillion 2024 national budget before the October congressional break.

Romualdez made the assurance during the formal submission of the President’s budget proposal to the House in ceremonies attended by other officers of the chamber led by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. and Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe, other House members and Department of Budget and Management officials headed by Sec. Amenah Pangandaman.

“Let me assure everyone that the House of the People understands full well the need to pass the national budget on time. The national budget is crucial in maintaining economic stability, sustaining the country’s growth trajectory and facilitating the seamless implementation of government programs and projects. As such, it demands the House’s utmost attention and commitment,” Romualdez said.

The House would deliberate “in a very transparent manner and get the widest consensus for our spending plan.”

“We will make sure that every centavo of the national budget will be spent wisely and contribute to our goal of reigniting the fires of our economic forges. Sisiguruhin namin dito sa Kongreso na lahat ng buwis na ibinayad ng ating mamamayan ay maibabalik sa kanila sa pamamagitan ng mga programa at proyekto ng gobyerno. Bawat pisong naidagdag sa kaban ng bayan, mapapakinabangan ng taumbayan,” he added.

The House leader has expressed confidence that with the participation and cooperation of his colleagues and officials of the DBM and other agencies, the House “will be able to scrutinize, deliberate and pass the national budget that is free for 2024 before we go on our first recess in October.”

He pointed out that the annual national budget is the blueprint of the government’s spending priorities.

The proposed national budget for next year will target the improvement of agricultural production such as rice and corn as well as will aim to bring down transportation costs.

“The national budget will provide increased allocations for the Department of Agriculture’s banner programs to boost the production of prime commodities such as rice, corn and high-value crops, and fisheries among others. Higher investments will also be provided for the construction of more fish ports and farm-to-market roads all over the country,” Romualdez said.

To reduce transportation and logistics costs, the Speaker said the government is determined to maintain high investments in infrastructure through the administration’s Build Better More Program.

Romualdez added that the proposed budget also includes increased funding for local government programs on agriculture, fisheries, digitalization, and infrastructure development.

The theme of President Marcos’ proposed spending plan for next year is, “Agenda for Prosperity: Securing a Future-Proof and Sustainable Economy.”

The House leader said the budget “has been designed to spur the country’s high-growth trajectory, with the Philippines targeting to attain upper-middle-income status by 2025 while maintaining strong financial footing.”

“The primary expenditure direction will continue to be anchored on the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda in the near term and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028,” he said.

He added that education “remains our top top priority as mandated by the Philippine Constitution, sharing 16 percent of the proposed national budget, or an increase of 3.3 percent owing to higher provisions for Basic Education Facilities Program, School-Based Feeding Program, instructional materials, and other learning resources.”

“The health sector will have ample budget support for programs that provide accessible and inclusive public health services. Specifically, a higher allocation will be provided for the National Health Insurance Program, which aims to subsidize the health premiums of the vulnerable sector pursuant to the Universal Health Care Law,” he stressed.

SOLONS TO WORK OVERTIME

A House leader vowed to work overtime to meet the House of Representative’s internal deadlines on the proposed 2024 national budget, while ensuring that every centavo is allotted precisely where needed.

Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co welcomed the submission of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2024 by the Department of Budget and Management, a week after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s State of the Nation Address.

Co hailed Speaker Romualdez for initially showing conviction in passing the budget on time to avoid reenactment.

The appropriations committee is tasked to deliberate on the national budget, aimed at sustaining the country’s economic growth, creating more income and job opportunities, and improving the quality of life of Filipinos through the timely delivery of social services.

Co said his committee will scrutinize the NEP properly in keeping with its mandate.

“By ‘properly,’ I mean making sure that we look at the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) with a keen eye,” he said.

“I have clear marching orders from the Speaker: make sure that the budget fully supports the Marcos administration’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda through sound fiscal management. This necessitates the committee checking if the projected revenues and borrowings reflected in the BESF are enough to fund the expenses, and, just as importantly, if they are funding the right projects and initiatives,” Co said.

The committee will also be taking into consideration the National Economic and Development Authority’s macroeconomic assumptions on which the proposed budget has been based.