The Senate will start Tuesday the period of amendments for the proposed P5.7-trillion 2024 national budget, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said over the weekend.
On the sidelines of the Asian-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), Zubiri said senators hope to approve the amendments to the budget and pass it on second and third reading the next day, Wednesday.
“The latest for these will be Wednesday and then, we will have the bicameral conference committee,” said Zubiri.
The Senate targets to ratify the national budget before Dec. 10 and expects President Marcos to sign next year’s budget before he leaves for Japan.
Zubiri also disclosed they already had a meeting with House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and the chairpersons of both chambers’ Finance and Appropriation committees to smoothen out all the details in the budget.
“We will have a brand new budget,” guaranteed the Senate leader.
Romualdez said the new budget “will be even more responsive and resources would be equitably allocated.”
“As sure as the sun rises, we always have calamities so we will make sure our budget will address this,” he said at the APPF’s sidelines.
“We are very much supported with all the relief goods, materials, and manpower support. The President is on the ground,” Romualdez said.
Meanwhile, Zubiri said there will be a higher budget for the Social Welfare and Housing departments after senators and congressmen agreed to give them additional budgets.
“We will be increasing all the social welfare budget and programs,” he said.
The Senate concluded last Tuesday the period of debates on the budget. It was highlighted by the withdrawal of Vice President Sara Duterte’s P500 million confidential fund and P150 million intelligence fund, which she no longer pursued after being hounded by criticism for it.
