A congressional leader on Saturday commended the leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez for a comprehensive and well-organized presentation of the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023.
“The House leadership led by Speaker Martin Romualdez is very impressed with the swift but well-organized presentation of the NEP (National Expenditure Plan), but the real challenge would be going through the finer details of the government’s spending program,” House Majority Leader and Zamboanga Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe said in a statement.
The House appropriations committee chaired by Ako-Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co started Friday the discussion on the proposed expenditure plan, which hopes to “fund programs and projects that will transform the country’s economy towards inclusivity and sustainability.”
Dalipe maintained the House is committed to working double time to scrutinize the government’s spending program and ensure that it is esponsive to the needs of the people.
“He added the chamber is committed to passing the budget before the end of October and signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before yearend.
“We only have one thing to do and that is to pass this budget, the General Appropriations Bill. If there is any law that is required for us to act on and that is the General Appropriations Bill. We have prepared for this, we have arranged the teams and we will not be remiss in our job to properly scrutinize the budget,” Dalipe stressed.
“The Committee on Appropriations has already made the process where pre-budget deliberations are being held so that our parochial concerns will be addressed in the committee hearings and the policy questions will be addressed in the plenary deliberations,” he added.
Dalipe said the House leadership is happy the NEP was submitted last August 22 without any delay and has given priority to five key sectors that have a direct impact on the lives of poor Filipinos.
Given the highest funding is the Department of Education with P852.8 billion (from P788.5 billion), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P718.4 billion ( from P786.6 billion), the health sector (Department of Health and Philhealth) with P296.3 billion (from P268.4 billion), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) with P197 billion (from P205 billion) and Agriculture with P184.1 billion (from P132.2 billion).
However, Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto on Saturday claimed that the proposed national budget for 2023 is actually P5.856 trillion, or P588 billion bigger.
“The spending amount being asked by the Palace is actually half-a-trillion pesos more,’’ Recto said in a statement.
He said the P588 billion represents the “unprogrammed appropriations” portion of the 2023 national budget. “It is more than double the current year’s P251.7 billion unprogrammed fund.”
Recto, who billed himself as a “gadfly” in the ranks of the administration allies in the House, urged the Department of Budget and Management to explain what he described as “unclear and undefined” purposes in the 2023 warchest.