President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has certified urgent the General Appropriations Bill or the P5.768 trillion proposed 2024 national budget.
In a letter addressed to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Wednesday, Marcos explained that he fast-tracked the certification of House Bill No. 8980 as urgent to guarantee the uninterrupted functioning of the government beyond 2023.
"I hereby certify to the necessity of the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 8980 (…) in order to address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the current fiscal year to expedite the funding of various programs, projects, and activities for FY 2024, and to ensure budgetary preparedness that will enable the government to effectively perform its constitutional mandate," Marcos wrote in the letter.
Copies of the letter were provided to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Mark Llandro Mendoza, and it was officially announced during the plenary session of the House on Wednesday.
This certification enables Congress to approve the bill within the same day, implying that the House has until the final session day – September 29 – to deliberate on the proposed budget.
The Department of Budget and Management previously said that the proposed budget primarily emphasizes allocating funds to stimulate the nation's economic development and combat the consequences of rising inflation.
Additionally, it disclosed that the combined sum allocated for confidential and intelligence funds in the 2024 budget proposal totals P10.14 billion. This includes P4.5 billion allocated to the Office of the President (P2.25 billion for confidential purposes and P2.31 billion for intelligence activities), as well as P500 million designated for the Office of the Vice President.