The Duterte administration will submit to Congress a proposed P5.024 trillion national budget for 2022 on Aug. 23, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the proposed budget, the highest ever in the country's history, is equivalent to 22.8 percent of the gross domestic product and is 11.5 percent higher than the 2021 budget.
In a press briefing, Roque said the 2022 spending plan was being finalized and printed and would be submitted to Congress on Aug. 23.
The social services sector, which covers Health and Education, will get the biggest share of the funds with P1.922 trillion or 38.2 percent of the proposed budget.
The second highest share of P1.474 trillion would go to the economic service sector, to cover the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
The general public services sector will get P862.7 billion, the defense sector will get P224.4 billion, and the P541.3 billion will be set aside for debt servicing.
By department, the following agencies received the highest allocations:
• The Department of Education, state universities and colleges and the Commission on Higher Education, P773.6 billion;
• The Department of Public Works and Highways – P686.1 billion;
• The Department of the Interior and Local Government – P250.4 billion;
• The Department of Health – P242 billion;
• The Department of National Defense – P222 billion;
• The Department of Social Welfare and Development – P191.4 billion;
• The Department of Transportation – P151.3 billion;
• The Department of Agriculture and the National Irrigation Administration – P103.5 billion; and
• The Department of Labor and Employment – P44.9 billion.
The proposed budget will also include the procurement of COVID-19 testing kits, the hiring of medical frontliners, establishment of the Virology Institute of the Philippines, and the continuous implementation of health programs under the Universal Health Care law.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the government is considering a third Bayanihan Act or a new COVID-19 emergency response law as more lockdowns may be necessary due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
In an online press conference, Zubiri said the House had passed a P500-billion aid package, but the executive branch said the government has only about P150 billion to spare.