PRESIDENT Duterte finally signed on Monday the P4.506-trillion 2021 national budget, which will focus on funding the country’s recovery from the pandemic.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is the country’s largest national budget to date, and is 10 percent larger than P4.1-trillion national budget this year.
In his speech at the ceremonial signing, Duterte said a highlight of the 2021 GAA is the P72.5 billion for the implementation of the vaccination drive of the government for Covid-19, which is expected to start by the first quarter of next year.
He said the amount will be used for the purchase, storage, transportation and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
“I cannot stress this enough. Every centavo of this budget must be spent to ensure our nations recovery, resilience and sustainability,” Duterte said.
“Let me therefore serve as an assurance to the Filipino people that this coming year we intend to recover as one nation,” he added.
A study by some economists indicated, however, that the 2021 budget puts more premium on peace and order concerns than on health and social welfare in a time of pandemic.
Lawmakers thanked
Duterte thanked the cooperation of the House of Representatives and the Senate for the swift ratification of the 2021 GAA.
“The prompt ratification of the 2021 national budget is a testament to our commitment to set aside divisive partisan politics. Indeed in this crucial juncture in our history we can no longer engage in politics of division, hate, and finger pointing,” Duterte said.
In a statement, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the social services sector got the bulk or 37 percent of the 2021 GAA with P1.668 trillion.
The economic services sector came in second place, which makes up 29.4 percent of the national budget with P1.323.1 trillion, it includes the administration’s flagship Build, Build, Build program.
Other sectors which got significant budget allocation is the General Public Services sector with P747.8 billion (16.6 percent), Debt Burden with P560.2 billion (12.4 percent), and Defense with P206.8 billion (4.6 percent).
Bounceback seen
Senators expect the economy to quickly “bounce back” following the timely signing into law of the budget bill.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, credited the Office of the President and the DBM for early enactment of the new budget law, projecting that with a new budget in place, “the economy is set to bounce back after a historic slump” this year due to the pandemic, allaying apprehensions any delay in the passage of the 2021 budget would derail the recovery process.
“All of Congress saw the urgency of approving the 2021 national budget on time,” Angara said, recalling that “we went through two reenacted budgets—one that lasted for four months in 2019 and the other for a few days in 2020.”
Angara acknowledged there is too much at stake in the 2021 budget, saying “the economy is set to bounce back after a historic slump this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and any delay in the passage of the budget would be akin to throwing a monkey wrench in the recovery process.” The senator recalled that “with this sense of urgency among the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the budget measure was transmitted to Malacañang on schedule, giving them enough time to go over the voluminous document and sign it before the year ends.
Angara said, “We are now assured that the government will be operating on a new budget on January 1, 2021.”
According to Angara, the 2021 national budget, together with the soon-to-be enacted extension of the validity of funds under the 2020 GAA and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act will “provide the government with the tools needed to address the pandemic, help our people to get back on their feet after losing their livelihood and their homes, and revive our economy as we inch slowly towards recovery.” With Butch Fernandez