Committed to passing the 2023 national budget before it goes on its first recess, the House of Representatives has approved the budget of 54 government agencies, leaving only 14 left before wrapping up the floor debates and moving for the approval of the P5.268-trillion National Expenditure Program.

With the help of the team in managing the flow of deliberations in the plenary, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe said they have implemented the schedules and the flow of the plenary discussion flawlessly.

"I see longer and more heated discussions on the budget of some agencies this week but it is nothing we cannot handle. I'm confident we will terminate all debates by 28 September and approve the budget bill by 30 September," said Dalipe, chairperson of the House Rules Committee.

Several House leaders, including Speaker Martin Romualdez, have vowed that the lower chamber would pass the national budget on the third and final reading before the 19th Congress goes on its first recess on 1 October.

Dalipe said the House leadership under Romualdez decided to defer until this week the discussion and the approval of the budget for the Department of Finance, including its attached agencies, the National Economic Development Authority, and its attached agencies, and the Energy Regulatory Commission.

The funding for the Department of Social Welfare and Development was approved Friday, but not the budget for the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, an attached agency.

This is to avoid unnecessary delays since Dalipe disclosed that many lawmakers wish to ask questions about these agencies' budget allocations. Hence, they opted to list them this week to allow lengthier debates.

"We will have fewer agencies to tackle on the floor so we can give our members more time to discuss their budget while expediting the budget approval of the other government offices," said the House leader.

This week, the House will tackle the budgets of the Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, Office of the Press Secretary, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy; Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the President; Presidential Management Staff and NCIP.