The House of Representatives welcomes the timely passage by the Senate of the proposed P4.506-trillion national budget for 2021.
We now look forward to sitting with our Senate counterparts in conference possibly starting next week to come up with a common version of the budget.
We have already formed a contingent composed of 21 members from various political parties to represent the House during the bicameral conference on the 2021 budget bill.
These representatives will make sure there will be enough funds for the government’s COVID-19 response, especially the procurement of vaccines for an initial 20 million poor Filipinos and eventually for at least 60 million of our population.
We also want to ensure sufficient funding for the rehabilitation and recovery of communities devastated by recent typhoons, including Rolly and Ulysses. We should help our people rebuild their lives.
Let us also not forget President Duterte’s other priority programs like Build, Build, Build and his anti-poverty projects. We must appropriate the funds needed to sustain them.
Our goal is to get the 2021 General Appropriations Bill on the President’s desk for his signature before the year ends, so we can prevent a reenacted budget that will not bode well for the economy and the entire nation.
