Despite being filled with known allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, Congress will have a slightly lower budget of P14.67 billion than the previous year under the President’s proposed P3.767-trillion budget for 2018.
Duterte’s 2018 appropriation for Congress is 2 percent lower than the P14.9 billion it enjoyed in the previous year—with the House of Representatives, led by Duterte ally Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, getting P9.35 billion this year from P9.68 billion in 2017; even as the Commission on Appointments stands to receive P240 million from P673 million in the previous year.
All other branches in the legislative branch will receive generous increases in their proposed appropriations for next year—including the Senate, led by Senate President Aquilino Martin Pimentel III which will have a budget of P4.2 billion from P4.19 billion in the previous year.
The Senate Electoral Tribunal will get a P270-million funding, slightly higher than the P257 million in 2017 while the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal will receive P182-million from P169 million in the previous year.
Some 31 priority measures by Duterte are currently being tackled in Congress, including the revision of the Constitution, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the Tax Reform Act, Amendments to the Social Security Act, and the National Land Use Act.