The House of Representatives is set to ratify the proposed P5.268-trillion 2023 national budget and approve, on third reading, at least 16 to 18 priority measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) before Congress goes on Christmas break on Dec. 17, Speaker Martin Romualdez said Sunday.
Congress will resume today its thrice-a-week plenary sessions after a month-long recess to deliberate on important measures.
“Of course, on top of our priority list is the final approval or ratification of the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget.
We will have a budget before the end of the year,” Romualdez said.
The budget, Romualdez said, would provide social safety nets for the people and help them recover from the economic displacement caused by COVID-19.
“We will work harder for our economy to recover with agriculture as the major engine for growth and employment,” he said.
He also said 16 to 18 measures of the Common Legislative Agenda listed by the LEDAC would likely be passed.
“We will also speed up the passage of LEDAC-priority bills, including the E-Governance Act and E-Government Act, in response to the appeal of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” he said.
Other LEDAC measures considered as priority by the House are the Medical Reserve Corps, Virology Institute of the Philippines, National Disease Prevention Management, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and National Service Training Program, Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries, Valuation Reform, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act, Internet Transaction Act, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery, Department of Water Resources, The New Philippine Passport Act, Waste-to-Energy Bill, The Magna Carta of Barangay Health Work, and National Government Rightsizing Program.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said they will continue deliberations on the proposed P5.268-trillion budget when the 19th Congress resumes Monday.
He said he expects the bicameral approval finished by the second week of December.
“With the hard work and commitment of all our fellow senators, we expect to have two weeks of marathon plenary deliberations, and hopefully we can have it approved on third reading in the Senate as early as the third week of November,” he said.
Zubiri said the sub-committees carefully combed through the agencies’ programs and spending even after the session adjourned on Oct. 1.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said in a radio interview that he and Senator Risa Hontiveros will be “friendly” during deliberations, although they still have questions regarding intelligence and confidential funds.
He was referring to those of the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
If slashed, Pimentel said, these funds can be realigned to food production, senior citizen benefits, and housing.