THE senior vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations assured the public last Tuesday there would be no reenacted budget for next year as the Lower Chamber is expected to approve on final reading the proposed P5.268-trillion 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) today, September 28.
During the Ugnayan sa Batasan News Forum, Appropriations Committee Senior Vice Chairperson Stella Luz A. Quimbo said the target is to pass both Houses the proposed 2023 GAA by the end of this year to avoid having a re-enacted budget.
“A re-enacted budget would mean delays in the delivery of public services to the detriment of our people. NEDA estimated that in 2019, the re-enacted budget costed us 1-1.2 percentage points of the GDP growth,” said Quimbo.
The lawmaker added they expect “to wrap up the plenary debates for the 2023 national budget” on Wednesday.
“It’s the second stage of the budget process where Congress members dedicate another pair of eyes to review the proposed budget,” Quimbo said. She added that, “so far,” the Lower Chamber has “terminated the debates for 61 agencies and constitutional bodies, leaving us with 14 more to deliberate.”
Highest ever
THE proposed P5.268-trillion national budget, the highest ever if approved by Congress, is P244 billion more than this year’s P5,023.6-trillion spending program. It represents 22.1 of gross domestic product (GDP).
The Department of Budget and Management has said government expects 2023 revenues to grow by 10 percent year-on-year to P3.632.9 trillion, or 15.3 percent of GDP, while disbursements will increase by 2.6 percent to P5.085.8 trillion. Deficit, on the other hand, is expected to decline to P1.453.0 trillion, or 6.1 percent of GDP, from this year’s program of P1.650.5 trillion or 7.6 percent of GDP.
By sector, social services will receive the biggest chunk of the P5.268 trillion budget with a P2.071-trillion allocation. Economic services follows with P1.528 trillion, general public services with P807.2 billion, debt burden with P611 billion and defense with P250.7 billion.
This budget proposal would be the first full one-year outlay of the Marcos administration.
On track
QUIMBO emphasized that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has certified the immediate enactment of the 2023 GAA.
“Usually, bills go through three independent readings on three separate days. With the President’s certification of urgency, mapapabilis ang proseso dahil hindi na kinakailangan ng hiwalay na second at third reading,” she said. [The process will be accelerated because a separate second and third reading is no longer necessary.]
“This is why we can say with confidence that we are on track to pass the budget before October 1. After this, Congress will transmit the GAA to the Senate, which will have its own version,” said Quimbo.
Likewise, the lawmaker explained that a bicameral conference will also be done to consolidate the versions of each chamber.
“We may have been running on a tight schedule since the budget season started, but the appropriations committee led by [Appropriations Chairman] Elizaldy S. Co is elated that we have stayed on track,” Quimbo said.
She noted, however, that the public may see that there are still “a lot of concerns that we need to address.”
“But I believe that the members are anchored to the same vision of passing a budget that is aligned with the needs of the districts and the marginalized sectors,” Quimbo said.
The lawmaker assures taxpayers the Lower Chamber will pass the budget on time “without compromising its quality.”
“We will pass a 2023 budget that is geared towards economic recovery and inclusive prosperity,” Quimbo said.