THE House Committee on Appropriations is set to begin formal deliberations this week on the proposed 2024 national budget amounting to P5.678-trillion.

First to face the House are members of the President’s economic team who comprise the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

These are Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona.

The four are expected to brief congressmen on the state of the country’s economy and the macro-economic assumptions used in putting together the proposed 2024 spending program.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said he and his colleagues would want to know from the administration’s economic managers “how the country could sustain its economic growth and how such growth could benefit our people.”

Romualdez said many of the poor complain that the economic boom is benefitting only the rich, the big companies, and stock and financial market players.

“The poor say they cannot eat growth. If majority of our people do not feel our economic expansion, they should at least see it in terms of the proper use of the national budget for social services, infrastructure, education, health, and even direct financial assistance to the poor and other vulnerable sectors,” Romualdez stressed.

House Committee on Appropriations chair Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Elizaldy Co also underscored the critical and pressing need for the immediate consideration and passage of the 2024 proposed budget.

In his opening statement at an executive meeting on Tuesday, Co expressed his appreciation for the committee’s collective dedication and cooperation in timely passing the FY 2023 budget.

“Your dedication, cooperation, and willingness to lend a helping hand have been the driving force behind its timely passage. I am deeply honored and humbled by the strength of our collective efforts.

“Recognizing the significant impact the 2024 budget can have on the lives of the Filipino people,” Co said.

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Jester P. Manalastas