President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law extending the availability of the P3.7-trillion budget for 2019 until to 31 December 2020.

Republic Act Number 11464 or an Act Extending The Availability of the 2019 Appropriations to 31 December 2020, amended Section 65 of the General Provisions of Republic Act No. 11260 (The General Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2019).

RA 11464 extends the use of allocations under the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses as well as capital outlays in the ₱3.7-trillion spending plan. If the law were not passed, the appropriations will be returned to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Duterte signed the 2019 budget in April after Congress failed to pass the legislation on time.

Under Section 1 of RA 11464, Section 65 of the 2019 Appropriations Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec . 65. Availability of Appropriations. All appropriations authorized in this Act shall be available for release and obligation for the purpose specified, and under the same special provisions applicable thereto, until 31 December 2020.

“A report on these releases and obligations shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate of the Philippines, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate Committee on Finance either in printed form or by way of electric document.”

Under Section 2 or Repealing Clause, all laws, decrees, executive issuances, rules and regulations inconsistent with the Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

The Act shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

The Act which originated in the House of Representatives was passed by congressmen on 18 November 2019, amended by the Senate on 26 November 2019 and was concurred in by the House of Representatives on 4 December 2019.