The House Appropriations Committee said the proposed 2022 national budget passage will not be delayed even if the Lower House suspends its session during the enhanced community quarantine period (ECQ).
The assurance was given by committee chairperson Eric Yap, amid the implementation of ECQ starting August 6 which prompted both houses of Congress to suspend plenary sessions.
“Vital measures can still be tackled as committee hearings will still be held via remote,” House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said.
Yap said the budget department may submit the proposed 2022 budget to the House of Representatives on August 23.
“So ‘pag napasa nila sa’min ‘yun, doon pa lang kami makakagawa ng bill, to file sa plenary. By that time, tapos na ‘yung suspension, hanggang August 20,” he said.
“Ang challenge na lang ngayon, maaga matatapos ‘yung session, October 1, because of the filing of the candidacy. So we will work out na ngayon, we will do it backwards. From October 1, dapat naka-third reading na ‘yan,” he added.
The Lower House targets to finish committee hearings within a week.
Yap said they have been coordinating with cabinet secretaries even before the final State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Duterte, to ensure smooth budget deliberations.
In a statement, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it is committed to finalize the 2022 National Expenditure Program (NEP) “and other related budget documents for printing, in time for its submission to both houses of Congress on or before the 30-day Constitutional deadline.”
“The proposed budget for next year amounts to P5.024 Trillion, which is equivalent to 22.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and is higher by 11.5 percent than this year’s national budget,” the DBM said.
Among the priority programs in the proposed national budget are for education, national ID system, assistance to local government units, economic recovery, and public transportation modernization through the Build, Build, Build program. – Report from Daniel Manalastas/AG-rir
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