House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Friday the P4.506-trillion national budget for 2021 was now ready for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Velasco made the statement after he signed the final copy of the money measure which he described as the “single-most powerful tool” to fight COVID-19 and help Filipinos and the economy recover from the adverse impacts of the pandemic.
“This budget reflects the serious commitment of the Duterte government to defeat COVID-19 and bring the economy back on track,” Velasco said.
Velasco said next year’s government budget included a P70-billion allocation for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, including storage, transportation, and distribution.
At the same time, the bill included several changes introduced by the House.
These are the P44.8 billion funding for the “Build, Build, Build” program under the Department of Public Works and Highways; and P2 billion for the procurement of personal protective equipment or PPE, P434.4 million for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program; P462 million for the Medical Health Assistance Program; and P100 million for the mental health program, all under the Department of Health.
Party-list Rep. Eric Yap, chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, also said the 2021 budget provides the P3.177 billion budget augmentation for the Department of Labor and Employment, mostly for the Office of the Secretary’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers Program, or Tupad.
“Congress also increased the budget for Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program and the Government Internship Program (GIP) by P5.09 billion, bringing its total to P19 billion,” Yap said.
The amount, he added, will be used to implement Tupad for workers affected by COVID-19, among others.