House to tackle plenary debates for P5.2T NEP
HOUSE Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Representative Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe on Saturday said the House of Representatives is set to begin plenary debates on the proposed P5.268 trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) to ensure the judicious but swift approval of the government’s national spending program for 2023.
Congratulating House Committee on Appropriations chairman Zaldy Co of the Ako Bicol Party-list, his deputies, and members, Dalipe said that the budget panel worked at a record-breaking pace to scrutinize the budget and ensure that it is responsive to the needs of the people and compliant with the spending requirement of the Marcos administration.
Dalipe also assured that the NEP and all of its provisions are transparent and above-board and designed to uplift Filipino people’s lives.
“The House leadership is confident that the NEP will be adequately reviewed and scrutinized to ensure that the best interest of our people is protected. We will not allow any manipulation by any syndicate or by any group to favor certain groups or individuals. ‘Di po papapayagan ng House leadership sa pamumuno ni Speaker Martin Romualdez ang mga maling kalakaran sa paggamit sa ating budget. We will scrutinize the budget and ensure the judicious allocation and use of our national budget,” Dalipe said.
Upon the instruction of Speaker Romualdez, Dalipe said the House Committee on Appropriations and the House Committee on Rules have agreed to submit the NEP to the plenary for sponsorship and floor debates starting Tuesday to cover the general principles and provisions of the budget measure and at least seven government departments and constitutional bodies namely: Department of Finance (DOF), including attached agencies/corporations; National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) (including attached agencies/corporations); Office of the Ombudsman; Commission on Human Rights (CHR), including Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission; Commission on Elections (Comelec); Department of Science and Technology (DOST), including attached agencies and other executive offices, such as the Anti-Red Tape Authority and the Mindanao Development Authority.
On Wednesday, scheduled for floor deliberations are the following agencies: State Universities and Colleges (NCR, Regions I to CARAGA Region, CAR, BARMM); Commission on Higher Education (CHED); Climate Change Commission (CCC); Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO); Games and Amusement Board (GAB); Philippine Space Agency (PSA); Philippine Sports Commission (PSC); Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB); Commission on the Filipino Language (CFL/KWF); Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP); Optical Media Board (OMB); National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA); National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP); National Library of the Philippines (NLP); National Archives of the Philippines (NAP); Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom); Philippine Competition Commission (PCC); Governance Commission for GOCCs; Budgetary Support to Government Corporations; Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP); Philippine Center for Economic Development (PCED); Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP); Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan; Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA); Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA); Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA); Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (ZAMBOECOZONE); allocation to Local Government Units (LGUs) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA); Department of Justice (DOJ) (including attached agencies); Civil Service Commission (CSC) including career service executive board; and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
For Thursday, the budget for the following agencies will be tackled on the floor: The Judiciary; Office of the Vice President (OVP); Department of Education (DepEd), including attached Agencies; other executive offices such as the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB); Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA); Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC); and the Department of Health (DOH), including attached, agencies, corporations.
Scheduled on Friday are the following agencies: Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR); Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), including attached agencies; Department of Migrant Workers (DMW); Department of National Defense (DND) (including attached agencies); and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.
Dalipe estimated that the floor debates would last until September 28 as the House is determined to approve the measure on or before September 30.
