THE House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the first full one-year budget of the Marcos administration for 2023, amounting to P5.268 trillion.
Voting 289 affirmative and 3 negative, the lower chamber approved House Bill (HB) 4488 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on second and third reading on the same day. This after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued an urgent certification for its immediate passage.
For his part, Speaker Martin G. Romualdez vowed that every centavo will be spent wisely to implement the programs of the Marcos administration aimed at revitalizing the economy amid the lingering ill effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The expeditious passage of the proposed 2023 budget is the product of the collective effort of the entire House, in transparent and open proceedings where the majority accorded ample opportunity for the constructive inputs of our friends from the minority bloc,” Romualdez said.
He said the House-approved budget for 2023 remains consistent with the 8-point socioeconomic agenda of the Marcos administration to achieve sustainable growth.
President Marcos called for the swift passage of the proposed 2023 budget “in order to address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of current fiscal year, strengthen efforts to respond more effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic, and support initiatives towards national economic recovery.”
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 GDP.
For 2023, the Department of Budget and Management said revenues are expected 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, the social services will receive the biggest chunk of the P5.268-trillion national budget with P2.071 trillion; followed by economic services with P1.528 trillion; general public services with P807.2 billion; debt burden with P611 billion and defense P250.7 billion.
Under the 2023 budget, the education sector will receive an 8.2-percent increase next year at P852.8 billion and will remain with the highest budgetary priority as mandated by the Constitution.
DepEd’s budget received an increase from P633.3 billion in 2022 to P710.6 billion in 2023.
On the other hand, a total of P1.196 trillion has been allocated for the government’s 2023 infrastructure programs.
As for the health sector, it shall receive a 10.4-percent budget increase at P296.3 billion in 2023, inclusive of the budgets of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
To improve its performance, the agriculture sector was allocated P184.1 billion, a 39.2-percent increase from its 2022 allocation.
The total amount includes P29.5 billion for irrigation services.
The House version of the budget will be transmitted to the Senate for its own deliberations.
With the approval of GAB on third and final reading on Wednesday, Romualdez said the House met its self-imposed deadline to terminate the deliberations on the proposed 2023 budget prior to the adjournment of session from October 1 until November 6, 2022.
It took the House of Representatives barely six weeks to approve the GAB, from the time the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted the National Expenditure Program (NEP) on August 22, 2022.
Likewise, Romualdez acknowledged the crucial role of House Majority Leader and Rules Committee chair Manuel Jose M. Dalipe, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, and senior vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations and Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo in spearheading the passage of the 2023 budget, including the deputies and various teams that managed the flow of deliberations in the plenary.
Image credits: House of Representatives/Facebook