Speaker Martin G. Romualdez recieves the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 from Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. Video by JunC

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez gives his opening statement before media during the submission of the NEP from the Budget Department. Video by JunC

Speaker Romualdez vows budget process will be transparent

HOUSE leaders led by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Monday vowed to approve on third and final reading the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 before October 1.

In a press conference, Romualdez made his statement after receiving the 2023 national budget from Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman, which he branded as a measure that envisions economic recovery during the first year of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“The House leadership is eyeing to finish committee and plenary deliberations on the budget proposal before October 1, when Congress is scheduled to go on its first recess that will last up until November 6, our break. We will perform our constitutional mandate to scrutinize and act deliberately and judiciously and very, very cautiously in the deliberations of the national budget for this is the most important piece of legislation that we shall face this year,” Romualdez told reporters.

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

Romualdez described the proposed appropriations measure, spelled out in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the DBM, as an exceptional fiscal program carefully formulated to provide a continuing booster shot to revitalize an economy still feeling the ill effects of the pandemic.

“We welcome the submission of the proposed 2023 national budget that will provide the broad strokes needed to speed up our economic recovery,” Romualdez said.

“The House of the People will effectively respond to the needs of the people, and we will do our best to address the continued impact of the health crisis, create more jobs and ensure food security,” Romualdez said.

“We will make sure that every centavo will be spent wisely to implement programs that would save lives, protect communities and make our economy strong and more agile. in partnership with the Senate and Malacañang, the House leadership will continue the Build, Build, Build program and create more jobs,” he declared.

Romualdez, along with House leaders Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, House Committee on Appropriations chairman Rep. Zaldy Co and his senior vice chairperson, Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo, received the budget document from the DBM.

The proposed P5.268-trillion proposed national budget, the highest ever if approved by Congress, is P244 billion more than this year’s spending program.

“And as the highest ever spending proposal ever to reach the halls of Congress, we will make sure that each bit of spending will contribute to our goal of reigniting the fires of our economic forges and at least propel the country to reach economic growth at pre-pandemic levels,” Romualdez expressed.

Romualdez bared that the Committee on Appropriations will “hit the ground running” and start budget deliberations at the committee level on Aug. 26. The Speaker is optimistic that the House of Representatives will be able to scrutinize, deliberate and pass a general appropriations bill before the appointed deadline.

For his part, Dalipe said “we have already coordinated with our teams in the committee on rules.”

“We have prepared three teams 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. Of course, 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, chairman of the House committee on rules.

“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.