Senate sees P5.7-T budget okayed next week

The Senate is targeting to approve the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024 early next week, Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara said Monday.

"I think the approval on second and third reading, most likely next week, on Monday," Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, told reporters.

He noted that senators are expected to submit their proposed amendments to the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill this week.

The approval of the national budget would pave the way for the upper chamber to focus on the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum that would be held from 23 to 26 November.

The Philippines is the host of this year's APPF, which will be attended by over 300 members of the parliaments and their delegations from 28 member countries.

The Senate is still conducting plenary debates on the GAB which was certified as urgent by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last September.

In the same month, the House of Representatives led by Marcos' cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, approved the proposed national budget on second and third reading reading, dispensing the three-day rule.

Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri previously said that the Senate is eyeing to submit the final version of the GAB to the Palace for the president's signature by the first or second week of December.

As of press time, senators are discussing the proposed budget of the Department of National Defense, which would receive a "considerable" amount in their budget next year to beef up the country's defense capability.

"The Senate is going to increase the budget of the DND, particularly on that issue of air defense and anti-ship and all that. I will not mention the amount, but it is considerable. It will be a Senate initiative," Zubiri said.

The additional budget for the DND came after the series of encounters between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.

Over the past months, China has become more aggressive in insisting on its claims in the West Philippine Sea, which is part of the 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.