The leadership of the House of Representatives has vowed to pass the proposed budget of P4.1 trillion for 2020 without delays to give the Senate enough time to deliberate the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The lower chamber reiterated this commitment as the Executive branch, through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), is expected to transmit the 2020 National Expenditure Program (NEP) for next year to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
“Our target is to immediately pass the national budget without delays. Our target is efficiency, quality and yet faster,” said House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said the timely passage of the national budget and other priority measures will further propel the country’s economic growth.
Romualdez said the lower chamber is “determined” to closely coordinate with the Senate and the Executive branch to achieve zero veto in the 18th Congress, especially on the 2020 national budget.
He said targeting zero veto does not intend to withhold the prerogative of the President on the legislative process, but to promote better coordination between both chambers and between the Legislative and Executive branches.
“The numbers now are good. All poverty indicators are at all-time low. We just need to stay the course and make sure that all the programs and policies are in place for the next phase of the war against poverty,” added Romualdez.
The total proposed national budget for 2020 is 9.1 percent higher, or P343 billion more than the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019. The P4.1-trillion cash-based budget for 2020 is equivalent to 19.4 percent of the country’s GDP, which amounts to P21.17 trillion.
House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Isidro Ungab said the lower chamber is targeting to pass the General Appropriations Bill on October 4 before the congressional recess.
“The [appropriation] committee will meet before the Development Budget Coordination Committee [DBCC] briefings. Most likely, we will be adopting the same rules used by the committee in the previous congresses. Strict adherence to the rules will ensure order and smooth deliberations at the committee level,” said Ungab.
Per the committee’s schedule, the budget hearings will kick off on Thursday, August 22 with a briefing of the DBCC. Deliberations on the 2020 NEP will be held until September 9. The panel is expected to approve the report on September 11.
The proposed GAA is expected to be approved on third and final reading on October 4. Then the lower chamber will transmit the national budget to the Senate for its own deliberation on October 8.
Congress is eyeing to submit the 2020 national budget to President Duterte on December 20.
Suggestions
Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin said the lower chamber should speed up the budget process to avoid a reenacted budget while making sure the proper scrutiny and evaluation are still done.
“Here in the House, we essentially have less than six weeks to work on the 2020 budget,” said Garbin.
For transparency, he said all the budget hearings should be live streamed and open to full news media coverage.
“These budget hearings should also run parallel with the hearings of priority legislation sent to the other committees. Maybe while we tackle the bills in the mornings, we work on the budget from after lunch until past midnight if necessary,” he said.
“Down the road, if the Senate manages to approve the budget before December 20, that will give the bicameral conference committee more time to reconcile the budget bills,” Garbin added.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes