The Senate aims to pass the proposed P.024-trillion 2022 national budget by the first week of December, Senate President Vicente Sotto III told reporters Monday.
Sotto said the plenary deliberations on the budget would begin once session resumes on November 8.
The House of Representatives on October 25 forwarded to the Senate its version of the proposed P5.024-trillion national budget for next year.
In the House’s version, some key amendments to the budget bill were made, including an allocation of P20 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots and P4.5 billion for the special risk allowance of qualified public and private health workers.
In the House, Deputy Speaker and Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera urged the Senate to take quick action on national budget, saying “We appeal to our senators to swiftly pass the 2022 national budget that is expected to help the country recover and emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Herrera thanked Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, Appropriations Committee Chair Eric Go Yap, and all the members of both the majority and minority blocs for the swift and smooth passage of the budget bill.
“This really shows the collective commitment and resolve of the House of Representatives to help Filipinos and the economy recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic by ensuring uninterrupted delivery of government services,” Herrera said.
She added: “The House of the People has done its job. We now await our friends from the Senate to do theirs.”
Herrera expressed optimism “the Senate, under the able leadership of Finance Committee Chair Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, will be able to pass its own version in a timely manner.”
“The ideal timeline is for President Rodrigo Duterte to sign the budget bill into law before Christmas,” Herrera added.
Herrera echoed an earlier statement by Velasco about the importance of enacting the national budget before January 1, 2022, as a reenacted budget will surely dampen the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
The government’s pandemic response and economic recovery plan for the country remain the top priorities in the proposed 2022 General Appropriations Act, the last budget under the Duterte administration.