THE committee on appropriations at the House of Representatives will begin today deliberations of the Duterte administration’s first national budget under the P3.35-trillion General Appropriations Bill.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, who chairs the panel, said the Development Budget Coordinating Committee is set to present a budget overview, including the macro-economic assumptions, projected borrowings and sources of funds for the country’s annual operations.
“We will begin the budget briefings all the way up to Sept. 13. On Sept. 19, we will bring the budget to the floor for plenary debates,” he said.
He said he is optimistic that President Rodrigo Duterte would be able to sign the national budget into law on Dec. 7.
The DBCC is an inter-agency body composed of the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The P3.35-trillion budget proposal, which is 11.6 percent higher than 2016’s P3.002-trillion appropriation, reflects the Duterte administration’s priorities in 2017, the lawmaker said.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, House majority floor leader, said Congress is inclined to ratify the national budget by December.
“We will pass the General Appropriations Bill in time for the President to sign it into the GAA on or before we adjourn on Dec. 14. This will be the first national expenditure program of the President to push for his priorities for his first year in office,” he said.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the budgets for 2017 until 2022 would back the President’s commitment to improve the country’s infrastructure, invest in human resources, modernize agriculture and rural development, and develop lagging regions.