President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to veto “two to three” items in the Congress-approved proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Wednesday.
“I think we will have two vetoes, two to three direct vetoes, and all the rest are just conditional and general observations,” Pangandaman said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
Early last week, the bicameral committee of Congress approved the 2023 budget bill.
“During the bicameral committee, while in the Senate, they removed it, but during the ratification, it was restored and all of these were in the NEP (National Expenditure Program) already,” Pangandaman said, referring to the items that are expected to be vetoed by the President.
Speaker Martin Romualdez said Mr. Marcos is expected to sign the proposed P5.268 trillion budget for 2023 into law later this week.
The Department of Budget and Management chief, meanwhile, said the appropriations measure has roughly P70 billion worth of budget realignments.
“Upon our initial analysis and checking of the numbers, most of it went to our [priorities], like education, social assistance,” she said.
In July, during the Post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) Economic Briefing in Pasay City, Pangandaman said the government’s top budget priorities are for education, health, social safety nets, infrastructure, and agriculture.