The Department of Budget and Management on Wednesday shed light on lawmakers' concerns concerning the allocation of funds for several programs of the Department of Health under the proposed national budget for 2023.

"First, allow us to note that the national government is in a tight fiscal position," the DBM said in a statement.

The agency said it is required "to carefully prioritize programs and projects based on available budget, and uphold sound fiscal management."

DBM explained why specific DoH programs did not receive allocations or got a significant decrease in their funds.

DoH's Epidemiology and Surveillance Program, for one, "were not supported with details and hence, had been considered as not yet ready for implementation," according to DBM.

"The significant decrease in the budget level for Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases is due to the lower requirement for Personal Protective Equipment requested by the DoH for Fiscal Year 2023 — from P5.304 billion in FY 2022 to P1.020 billion for FY 2023," it said.

DoH also proposed a lower budget for the Health Emergency Program at P752.341 million, which is lower compared to the P813.8 million budget in 2022.

DBM also stressed that when it allocates a budget for a program, it takes into consideration the utilization rate of the particular agency.