The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte plans to spend nearly P1.2 trillion in infrastructure development in 2018, as a part of its goal to close the P8-trillion infrastructure gap in the country.
The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee said in a statement the plan was to spend P1.199 trillion for infrastructure next year, representing 6.8 percent of the gross domestic product.
The proposed infra budget for 2018 would be 34.57 percent higher than the approved P891 billion budget allocated for 2017 projects, representing 5.2 percent of GDP.
The infrastructure budget will be a part of the proposed P3.84-trillion national government budget for 2018, up by 14.6 percent from the 2017 budget of P3.35 trillion.
The 2018 budget, however, was set on the assumption that Congress would approve the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program submitted by the Finance Department.
Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said earlier the delay in the approval of the tax reform package might put the 2018 budget in peril and affect economic growth in the coming years.
“[The non-passage of the tax reform proposal], will make the 2018 budget difficult because it’s still uncertain, so I don’t know the assumptions to apply,” Pernia told reporters earlier.
Congress has yet to pass the proposed tax reforms.
The Budget Department wants government agencies to prepare the 2018 budget early. Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno issued National Budget Memorandum No. 127, calling on agencies to submit their Tier 1 budget proposals for FY 2018.
He said government agencies should submit the first part of their budget proposals in accordance to the 0 to 10-point socioeconomic genda of the Duterte administration.
The P3.35 trillion budget for 2017 was signed by Duterte before the end of 2016.