BY WENDELL VIGILIA and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) yesterday submitted to the House of Representatives the Marcos administration’s proposed P5.768 trillion funding request for next year, which includes a P9.2 billion allocation for the government’s confidential and intelligence funds.
The proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) is 9.5 percent higher than this year’s P5.269 trillion budget.
Secretary Amenah Pangandaman formally submitted the NEP for 2024 to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez just nine days after President Marcos Jr. delivered his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).
In his budget message, the President underscored the approval of the proposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024 would bring the country a step closer to achieving his administration’s transformative vision for the Philippines, which he coined as his “Agenda of Prosperity.”
Marcos said the proposed budget is vital in realizing the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which aims to strengthen the capabilities and protect the Filipinos’ purchasing power and enhance production sectors to generate more quality jobs and competitive products.
He also said the funds are need for the continuing pursuit of the country’s economic transformation.
“Our journey has just begun. We will continue to work closely with the private sector, and other branches of government, especially with Congress for the vital pieces of legislation that are needed along the way. We will march on – one nation, one people building a better future together,” the President said.
Pangandaman said the total confidential and intelligence funds across departments and agencies under the 2024 budget proposal has reached P9.2 billion which, she said, is almost the same as this year’s level.
The lion share will go to the Office of the President (OP), which is asking for P4.5 billion, while the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will get P500 million.
The Department of Education, which is also headed by Vice President Sara Duterte as concurrent Education secretary, will again receive P150 million, while the Department of National Defense (DND) will get P1.7 billion.
Pangandaman assured the public that there will be full transparency in the use of the funds based on the guidelines of the Commission on Audit (COA).
BBM PROGRAM
Malacañang asked Congress for a P1.418 trillion budget for infrastructure, or the administration’s “Build, Better, More” (BBM) program which is equivalent to 5.3 percent of the country’s GDP, which includes the Public Sector Infrastructure budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTR) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) amounting to P176.4 billion and P801.2 billion, respectively.
Because of the need to improve public transport and reduce road congestion, the Executive had doubled the proposed budget of the DOTR from P106 billion this year to P214.3 billion for 2024.
The President also wants another P1 billion set aside for the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Program, the same amount allocated for it under this year’s budget, to allow the Marawi Compensation Board to provide tax-free compensations and/or reparations to qualified claimants whose properties and possessions have been damaged during the 2017 Marawi siege.
So far, at least 12,000 claimants have filed their applications and just on the first day of filing last July 4, this year’s P1 billion budget was almost used up since the claims that day reached as much as P800 million, according to MCB chairperson Maisara Dandamun-Latiph.
The Executive has also set aside P20 billion for the allowances and COVID-19 compensation package of healthcare workers, following the promise that the President made in his second SONA to release the COVID-19 health emergency allowance of health workers and their other benefits.
The President said the National Health Workforce Support System will also be provided with P18 billion “to bolster our healthcare workforce and equip them for deployment in remote and depressed areas to provide promotive and curative services.”
As mandated by the Constitution, the education sector was given the lion share of the 2024 budget with an allocation of P924.7 billion, which constitutes 16 percent of the 2024 NEP. This amount is higher than this year’s P895.2 billion.
The budget for health went down from this year’s P314.7 billion to P306.1 billion in the 2024 NEP, while the appropriation for defense increased to P232.2 billion from P203.4 billion in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The budget for social welfare was also increased from P199.5 billion to P209.9 billion, while the agriculture sector’s budget was increased by around P7.8 billion.
The President said among the priority program of his administration that would be funded in the budget include the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) Program, School-based Feeding Program, provision of textbooks and other instructional materials, social pension for indigent senior citizens, and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), among others.
Marcos also said the budget would support the operations of government with around P2.156 trillion allocated for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), which include the regular operating requirements of government agencies, implementation of government programs and services, subsidies to government owned or controlled corporations, and allocations to local government units.
The appropriated shares of local government units (LGUs) include the P871.4 billion earmarked for the National Tax Allotment (NTA), and the 70.5 billion for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Annual Block Grant.
The President said P1.695 trillion of the proposed budget is allocated for Personnel Services (PS) expenditures, which covers the salaries, benefits, pensions, allowances, and other compensation of government officials and employees, including healthcare workers under the National Health Workforce Support System (NHWSS), and the pension of retired Military and Uniformed Personnel.
Around P1.246 trillion of the proposed expenditure program would be spent for Capital Outlays, which include the P1.418 trillion allocation for major road and transport programs of the DPWH and the DOTR, such as the Network Development Program, Bridge Program, Rail Transport Program, and Aviation Infrastructure Program; as well as for social infrastructure, such as the Basic Education Facilities (BEF) Program of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) of the Department of Health (DOH).
To address the debt burden, the government allotted P699.2 billion or 12.1 percent of the budget for interest payments on the national government’s domestic and foreign debt (P670.5 billion), and net lending (P28.7 billion), while the appropriation for financial expenses is at P670.5 billion or 11.6 percent of the proposed budget, which covers trusteeship fees, interest expenses, guarantee fees, bank charges, and commitment fees, among others.
‘PORK-FREE’
Romualdez assured the public the budget will be “pork-free” as he vowed to prioritize its passage and have the measure approved by October, right before the House goes on a month-long recess.
“With everyone’s participation and cooperation, I am confident that the House of Representatives will be able to scrutinize, deliberate, and pass the national budget that is pork barrel-free for 2024 before we go on our first recess in October,” he said.
The brief ceremony held at the Office of the Speaker was attended by senior deputy speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., majority leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, other House members and DBM officials.
The Speaker thanked the DBM for submitting the budget proposal in less than 10 days from the start of the Second Regular Session of the 19th Congress, saying it will give the House “ample time to study, discuss and deliberate on the finer points of the proposal and formulate a national budget that is responsive to the development needs of the country.”
“Let me assure everyone that the House of the People understands full well the need to pass the national budget on time. The national budget is crucial in maintaining economic stability, sustaining the country’s growth trajectory and facilitating the seamless implementation of government programs and projects. As such, it demands the House’s utmost attention and commitment,” Romualdez said.
A 2014 Supreme Court ruling prohibited the old “pork barrel” system and banned lump sum congressional allocations in favor of itemized allocations in the national budget.
While districts are still entitled to congressional allocations worth a minimum of P70 million annually, the SC ruling banned the post-enactment identification of projects to be funded by the annual budget.
