The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the P5.268 trillion proposed national budget for 2023 on the third and final reading pursuant to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' certification to pass it as urgent.

House Bill 448, or the 2023 General Appropriations Bill, received 289 affirmatives, three negatives, and 0 abstentions.

Members of the Makabayan bloc all voted against the measure.

Speaker Martin Romualdez expressed gratitude to his colleagues in the lower chamber for their valuable contributions to the swift passage of GAB.

"The expeditious passage of the proposed 2023 budget is the product of the collective effort of the entire House, in transparent and open proceedings where the majority accorded ample opportunity for the constructive inputs of our friends from the minority bloc," Romualdez said.

The Leyte solon reiterated that "every centavo" would be spent wisely to implement the programs of the Marcos administration aimed at revitalizing the country's economy amid the lingering ill-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Romualdez said the House-approved budget for 2023 remains consistent with the 8-point socio-economic agenda of the Marcos administration to achieve sustainable growth.

Marcos earlier called for the swift passage of the proposed 2023 budget to address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the current fiscal year, strengthen efforts to respond more effectively to the Covid-19 pandemic, and support initiatives toward national economic recovery.

With the approval of GAB on the third and final reading, the lower chamber met its self-imposed deadline to terminate the deliberations on the proposed 2023 budget prior to the adjournment of the session from 1 October until 6 November 6 this year.

It took barely six weeks for the House to approve the 2023 GAB.