The government will need over P240 billion for its COVID-19 response in its proposed P5 trillion national budget for 2022, Malacanang said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this amount would be needed to fight the pandemic, based on preliminary data as of Aug. 19, but added that the amount was just not yet final.
“This is what was in the National Expenditure Plan. But the Congress can, of course, change it. They can add to it, or they can deduct,” he said in a virtual press briefing.
Next year’s proposed national budget includes some P45 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 booster shots.
“In the 2022 budget, we have a budget entry for booster shots for all Filipinos. The cost of the booster shot is P45 billion,” Roque added.
The biggest share of the budget will go to the Department of Education with P99 billion to fund its flexible learning options, textbooks and other instructional materials, and computerization programs amid the implementation of blended learning, he said.
On the other hand, the Department of Health will get P93 billion for its health facilities, prevention and control of communicable diseases, procurement of supplies, and the emergency hiring of health workers.
A total of P33.63 billion will be allocated for the programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Of the said figure, P22.33 billion was set for the agency’s Livelihood and Emergency Employment programs while the remaining P11.29 billion was for the welfare services of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
The government has set aside P11.52 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) would be getting P1.28 billion; the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) would get P1.2 billion; and the University of the Philippines (UP) System would get P140 million.
The proposed national budget for 2022 worth P5.024 trillion is expected to be submitted to Congress on Monday, Aug. 23.
The DOH on Thursday said it is considering the inclusion of COVID-19 booster shots in the 2022 budget.
Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, chief of the National Vaccination Operations Center, however, said the DOH All Experts Group has yet to recommend booster shots.
“The need for booster shots is still being studied, although we are considering it in the 2022 budget. There is no firm recommendation from the All Experts Group yet,” Cabotaje said during an online forum.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III had said that the Philippines would need around P55 billion to purchase booster shots—P10 billion more than the figure Roque quoted.
The United States has announced that Americans should get a booster shot eight months after their second dose.
The World Health Organization, on the other hand, said the current data do not support the need for booster doses.
