The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is seeing the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or next year’s budget of P5.268 trillion as the beginning mark of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda.
The DBM said the agenda will help address inflation and the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through job generation and economic recovery.
“We will do this by steering our economy back to its high-growth trajectory as encapsulated in our Medium-term Fiscal Framework. Of course, we will be needing the consolidated efforts of all sectors to sustain inclusive and resilient growth in the near term,” DBM Sec. Amenah Pangandaman said.
For food security, the agriculture sector has been allotted a P174.0 billion budget, the highest share of which will be given to the Department of Agriculture (DA) at P156.6 billion to support its banner programs.
The “Build, Better, More” Program for improved transportation will also have a P976.5 billion budget, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) receiving P894.2 billion and P82.3 billion, respectively.
Around P10.2 billion will also be allocated in renewable energy and alternative fuels to address rising power rates, while the Department of Health (DOH), including the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), will receive P314.6 billion.
The education sector will also have a huge chunk of budget with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) getting P720.4 billion and P31.7 billion, and P16.2 billion, respectively.
Social welfare programs will also be supported by a P239.1-billion budget, while P21.6 billion will be allocated to ensure sound fiscal management and P15.6 billion to improve bureaucratic efficiency through digitalization. AG – gb
