The House of Representatives on Tuesday began its plenary discussions on the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023.
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, maintained the House leadership’s commitment “to pass a timely, responsive and inclusive budget for the Filipino people” as its passage wll help the economy recover from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to address urgent economic issues.
Co sponsored House Bill (HB) 4488, titled, “An Act appropriating funds for the operation of the government of the Republic of the Philippines from January one to December thirty-one, two thousand and twenty-three (January 1 to December 31, 2023)” after weeks of holding hearings on the specific budgets of the various government agencies.
The National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by Malacanang, serves as the basis of the GAB, which, upon enactment by the President becomes the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget.
“It is now the responsibility of the House of Representatives through the Committee on Appropriations, where the General Appropriations Act originates, to pass a timely, responsive and inclusive budget for the Filipino people,” Co said in his speech.
“The President’s budget (NEP) message clearly underlines that the overall goal is to reinvigorate job creation and reduce poverty by steering the economy back to its high-growth path in the near term and sustaining its high, inclusive, and resilient growth in the long term,” he added.
To finance the proposed 2023 national budget, Co said the national government expects revenue collections in fiscal year 2023 to reach P3.633 trillion or 15.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).This is 10 percent higher than the FY 2022 programmed revenue of P3.304 trillion, which is equivalent to 15.2 percent of GDP, he said.
“The P3.633-trillion revenue will fund about 69 percent of the P5.268-trillion programmed disbursements for FY 2023, obliging the national government to partly finance through borrowings about 31 percent of the expenditures.
Co said that of the proposed P5.268 trillion budget, P4.259 trillion will be for the operation of the national government, consisting of P3.671 trillion in programmed new appropriations and P588 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
The bill, which will soon be transmitted to the Senate for deliberation, “embodies the 8-point socio-economic agenda of this administration comprised of food security, improved transportation, affordable and clean energy, health care; social services, education, bureaucratic efficiency, and sound fiscal management,” he said.
Co said the proposed national budget is built on the three pillars seeking to strengthen the purchasing power of Filipinos, to reduce vulnerability and mitigate scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to enhance bureaucratic efficiency.
“The President’s budget message clearly underlines that the overall goal is to reinvigorate job creation and reduce poverty by steering the economy back to its high-growth path in the near term and sustaining its high, inclusive, and resilient growth in the long term,” Co said.
The House official said the 69 percent of the expenditures, or P3.633 trillion, will be funded by projected revenue collections while the rest will be borrowed.
The Executive Department submitted the 2023 National Expenditure Program on August 22, 2022, within 30 days from the opening of the congressional regular session on July 25.
“In solidarity and with a united front, we shall be able to deliver the necessary tools and resources with this budget to improve the lives of our constituents and uplift their hope for a better quality of life and future prosperity and advancement of the Filipino people,” Co said.
This developed as the Makabayan Bloc questioned what its members described as huge allocations of confidential and intelligence funds to various agencies while allocation for social services were reduced the 2023 national budget.
Reps. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, Raoul Manuel.of Kabataan – both members of the leftist bloc; Rep. Mujiv Hataman of Basilan voiced their objections to the the reduced budget for the following government programs, such as protective services for individuals and families in especially difficult circumstances with P19.8 billion (50 percent less than its current allocation): Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers at P25.8 billion which is lower than its 2022 allocation of P36.9 billion 2022 allocation; Adjustment Measures Program with P316 million which is lower than its 2022 budget of P491 million.
In contrast, Brosas complained that the Defense Department got a P310 billion proposed budget for 2023, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program was allocated P45 billion, the Office of the President and the Vice President got P2.5 billion and P500 million in confidential funds, respectively, and the anti-insurgency task force was funded with P10 billion.
Rep. Stella Quimbo of Marikina City, senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, responded to the critics of the measure by saying: “We have unlimited needs but unfortunately limited funds. That is our problem. We have a small fiscal space, we only added P244 billion from the previous budget. It is really a challenge due to poverty and unemployment. We had to secure loans for our COVID-19 response, because of that, we need to manage our total debt.”
She also justified the huge allocations for confidential funds and the military budget by citing the need for right information and national security.
“[Encouraging] foreign investors has to do with national security. Investors need predictability. They won’t invest in a place na walang predictability, and a big part of that predictability is national security,” Quimbo said.
Increase allocations in intelligence and military budget, she said, “is directly and strongly related with economic recovery.”
“Kung kulang ang ating information, sayang lang ang perang ilalagay natin [sa programa ng gobyerno],” she added.
The House is expected to pass the money measure on third and final reading before Congress adjourns on Oct 1.
