The House of Representatives has approved on final reading the 2023 budget of ₱5.268 trillion.
The House of Representatives approved the P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 in the third and final reading.
House Bill (HB) 4488 or the General Appropriations Bill was approved on second reading by voice vote earlier with the support of 289 legislators, this after President Marcos Jr. issued an urgent certification for its immediate passage, the Manila Times reported.
Citing the 1987 Constitution, Marcos certification letter to Congress stated: “I hereby certify the necessity of the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 4488… In order to address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the current fiscal year, strengthen efforts to respond more effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic, and support initiatives toward national economic recovery."
Speaker Martin G. Romualdez swore that every centavo will be spent wisely to accomplish the programs of the Marcos administration at revitalizing the economy amid the lingering ill effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The expeditious passage of the proposed 2023 budget is the product of the collective effort of the entire House, in transparent and open proceedings where the majority accorded ample opportunity for the constructive inputs of our friends from the minority bloc,” Business Mirror quoted Romualdez.
The budget for 2023 approved by the House is still in line with the Marcos administration's 8-point socioeconomic program for achieving sustainable growth.
The House began deliberations on the proposed 2023 national budget in plenary last September 20, 2022, after budget briefings by government agencies at the House committee’s level.
Under Section 24 of the 1987 Constitution's Article 6, appropriation bills "shall originate exclusively in the" House and that the Senate may propose or concur with amendments.
Section 22 of the 1987 Constitution's Article 7 mandates the President to submit to the Congress within 30 days from the opening of the regular session, "as the basis of the general appropriations bill, a budget of expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue measures."
2023 budget allocations
The proposed ₱5.268 trillion national budget will be the highest ever and ₱244 billion more than this year's ₱5.023 trillion expenditure plan. It represents 22.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the Business Mirror further reported.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said revenues are expected to increase by 10 percent annually to ₱3.632.9 trillion or 15.3 percent of GDP in 2023, while disbursements will increase by 2.6 percent or ₱5.085.8 trillion.
A deficit is expected from this year's program of ₱1.650.5 trillion, or 7.6 percent of GDP to ₱1.453.0 trillion, or 6.1 percent of GDP.
With ₱2.071 trillion, the social services sector would receive the largest share of the ₱5.268 trillion national budget, followed by the economic services totaling ₱1.528 trillion, general public services with ₱807.2 billion, a debt burden of ₱611 billion, and defense at ₱250.7 billion.
In line with this, the education sector will receive an 8.2-percent increase next year or ₱852.8 billion and will remain with the highest budgetary priority as mandated by the Constitution.
Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget received an increase from ₱633.3 billion in 2022 to ₱710.6 billion in 2023.
For the government’s 2023 infrastructure programs, a total of ₱1.196 trillion has been allocated from the budget.
The budget for the health sector, which includes the budgets of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), would increase by 10.4 percent or ₱296.3 billion in 2023.
The agriculture sector allocated a total of ₱184.1 billion, which is a 39.2 percent increase from its 2022 allotment, to boost agricultural performance.
The budget includes ₱29.5 billion for irrigation services.
These budgets must be used wisely for the Philippines to fully recover from the aftermath of the pandemic as it has given such struggles and challenges for the Filipinos and the country itself.
Tags: #2023nationalbudget, #socialservices