SENATORS led by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, worked overtime to pass the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023.

The plenary debates, which were participated by the senators, worked until the wee hours to approve the measure on November 21, as scheduled.

The Senate deemed submitted for plenary approval the budget of several agencies, including the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proposed P6.48 billion budget.

Zuribi said Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia is doing his job as he lauded the Comelec in the last elections.

Sen. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, for his part, defended the proposed P53.37 billion budget for the Judiciary at the continuation of the marathon plenary session Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022.

No senator manifested the intention to interpellate the said proposal, which includes the budgets of the Supreme Court (SC) and lower courts, the Court of Appeals (CA), the Sandiganbayan, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), and the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

According to Angara, Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Raffy Tulfo, Francis Tolentino, Nancy Binay, Joel Villanueva, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel expressed their strong support for the budget of the Judiciary.

Sen. Jose Jinggoy Estrada acted as presiding officer during the plenary session over the deliberation on the proposed P252.58 billion budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and attached agencies, which has been deemed submitted.

Meanwhile, Sen. Pimentel pushed for increased funding for the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) to support its fight against corruption in government.

On the fourth day of the marathon plenary session, Pimentel noted that the P4.72 billion allocation proposed by the Executive branch for the OMB was retained in the House-approved General Appropriations Bill.

He said he is willing to entertain and examine any request for budget augmentation by the constitutional body.

“What is important is we are united in the majority and minority bloc when it comes to supporting the Ombudsman in its fight against corruption,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel urged the Ombudsman to be a “role model” agency to other government offices in itemizing and liquidating its confidential funds.

For 2023, the Ombudsman was given some P51 billion as confidential funds.