Reconciled version of 2024 GAB ratified

The Senate on Monday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on House Bill 8980, or the proposed P5.768 trillion General Appropriations Bill for 2024.

Only Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III voted against the passage of the 2024 GAB which includes the zero budget for the confidential and intelligence funds of civilian agencies.

The House of Representatives on the other hand, ratified the bicameral conference committee report via viva voce, just hours after the panel, composed of members of the Senate and the House, reconciled the disagreeing versions of the 2024 General Appropriations Bill.

The proposed national budget for next year is P500 billion higher than this year's P5.268-trillion spending program.

Under the approved reconciled version of both chambers, supposed secret funds to civilian agencies were transferred to security agencies.

"It was transferred to the security agencies," Senate Finance panel chair Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara told reporters in a chance interview.

Angara said that around P9 billion was transferred to the confidential and intelligence funds of security agencies, equivalent to 0.02 percent of the 2024 GAB.

For his part, House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson and Ako Bicol Party list Rep. Zaldy Co said he is "grateful" to his counterparts in the Senate for not reinstating the proposed confidential and intelligence funds earlier removed by the lower chamber.

"I am thanking the Senate for accepting our request about the confidential funds of civilian agencies. The House of Representatives' will was followed," Co said in a separate interview.

"We are grateful to the whole Senate because they agreed and they proved that there will be no reinstatement of slashed confidential funds in the bicameral conference, especially in the (Department of) Education," he added.

To recall, the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, decided to remove the confidential funds of five civilian agencies, including those led by Vice President Sara Duterte.

During a Senate hearing, Duterte eventually dropped her bid for P650 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds for the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President.

Contingent fund

The bicameral conference committee adopted a special provision by Senator Risa Hontiveros, which prohibits the use of contingent funds to increase the secret funds of other agencies.

"It is still there, the banning of the use of the contingent fund. It is still there," Angara said.

So far, he noted that the education, infrastructure, and health sectors, received the biggest chunk of additional funds.

The Philippine Coast Guard was also given an additional P2 billion amid increasing tension in the West Philippine Sea.

"That is led by Senate President (Juan Miguel) Zubiri. That is the standing order of SP Zubiri: Help our defense forces.

Angara described the 2024 General Appropriations Bill as a "budget for growth to sustain our growth."

"This budget, hopefully, will provide hope to our fellow Filipinos because these are times of uncertainty. There are wars and the tragedy in Marawi. Hopefully, it will help our countrymen," he said.

Budget questioned

In his manifestation, Pimentel questioned what he described as "serious and graved concerns" regarding the budget process, particularly the additional unprogrammed appropriations amounting to P400 billion to the Office of the President.

"The original proposal of the executive was P281.9 billion only in the NEP (National Expenditure Program), and yet, we ended up having P731.4 billion," he said.

Responding to Pimentel's query, Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, who sponsored the GAB, said the additional unprogrammed appropriations came from the programmed appropriations.

Pimentel also expressed concern about the P40 billion reduction to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation's proposed budget for next year.

Angara, however, expressed his confidence that the budget reduction to PhilHealth would not affect the services and programs offered by the state-run health insurer.

"PhilHealth has around P600 billion money. I don't think it will have an adverse effect — that decrease that you mentioned," he told the Senate minority chief.

Pimentel also raised concerns about the increase in the proposed budget of the House of Representatives for next year, amounting to P12.5 billion.

"After the bicameral conference committee, the House of Representatives received a huge increase in their budget. Another increase of P12.5 billion," he said.

"If this is the actual need of the House of Representatives — P28.6 billion — I hope this should have been reflected in the GAB from the very start. So that when we discuss the budget amounts, that is the amount that we have in our minds," he added.

For his part, Angara said this matter should be brought up to the House of Representatives, and the Department of Budget and Management.

"Because it's between the Congress and the DBM and there were 29 budgets of congressmen that were not included in the House's budget," he said.