The proposed national budget for the next fiscal year amounting to P5.768 trillion reached the Senate floor on Tuesday.
Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, who heads the Senate Committee on Finance, sponsored the General Appropriations Bill, the Senate version of the House Bill 8980.
In his sponsorship speech, Angara stressed that the proposed 2024 budget is the first expenditure plan to be fully developed under the leadership of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos.
"This is why the avowed goals of this budget are no different from last year's. If anything, in this proposal, we see more clearly the administration's ideas on how to encourage growth, slash poverty, narrow the budget deficit and reduce debt, jumpstart the economy's transformation, and finally cement our status as an upper middle-income nation," he said.
"The general aim is still to pursue the agenda for prosperity, framed by the eight-point socioeconomic agenda of the administration (which includes Food Security, Improved Transportation, Affordable and Clean Energy, Health Care, Education, Social Services, Sound Financial Management, and Bureaucratic Efficiency), buttressed by the Medium-Term Fiscal Work that Congress adopted early on, and encapsulated by the 2022 – 2028 Philippine Development Plan," he added.
Flagship programs
Under the proposed national budget, Angara said the government's flagship programs "shall be provided adequate funding so they can continue in earnest."
He noted that the government would continue to finance the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or the 4Ps, the Build Better More program, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, and the Tulong Trabaho Act.
At least P1.3 billion would also be allotted for the service contracting of PUVs.
"Funds for the bike share system and safe pathways program of the government will also be increased, in a bid to encourage more of our countrymen to make the shift from passive to active transport options," Angara said.
"We hope that with these budgetary augmentations, we will sustain the momentum that started during the pandemic towards a more bike-friendly Philippines," he added.
According to Angara, the education sector remains the top budget priority next year as the Department of Education and its attached agencies are set to receive P718.08 billion, an increase of P3.5 billion.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority's proposed budget was also boosted, particularly to fund the National Certifications of Grades 12 students who have chosen to take the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood track and for the hiring of some 11,838 assessors that will facilitate these national certifications.
Healthcare
The healthcare sector received the second largest allocation in the expenditure plan for next year as the Department of Health is set to receive a total of P243.36 billion, an increase of P4.23 billion.
According to the Senate Finance chair, the additional funding will be directed to several health facilities across the country and the construction of regional specialty centers.
Angara said the budget also "continues with our ongoing drive to increase the pool and pipeline of human resources for health who will work in hospitals and health centers outside of our urban centers."
Social protection programs
Aside from 4Ps and fuel subsidies under the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture, Angara said the budget also answers for the financial support programs through the Department of Social Welfare and Development's Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens; Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances; Sustainable Livelihood Program; Cash-for-work under the KALAHI-CIDSS; and the Supplementary Feeding Program.
He also said that the budget also supports the new programs of the Marcos administration such as the Philippine Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Project, and the Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program or STAMP, which aims to lessen the number of stunted and malnourished children in the country.
The Department of Labor and Employment's Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or Tupad; DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program or DILP, and Adjustment Measures Program would also be continued.
The proposed budget also aims to support programs to reduce energy costs, fast-track infrastructure development, and enhance connectivity, digitalization, and digital transformation in the country.
Security
According to Angara, the proposed budget for next year also "focused on enhancing our capabilities to safeguard our national security, maintain our territorial integrity, and uphold our sovereignty."
The Senate version of the 2024 proposed budget received further augmentations to the budgets of the Department of National Defense and its attached agencies, and the different service branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
A total of P232.497 billion was allocated to the programmed funds for the national defense.
The proposed budget, according to Angara, also supports programs to spread awareness about the UNCLOS and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, which cemented Manila's claim over the West Philippine Sea.
"We do this to maintain our independent foreign policy of being a friend to everyone, and an enemy to none, as well as our continued commitment to upholding the international rule of law," he explained.
Angara said he is hoping for the Senate's approval of the GAB on or before 27 November.
Senators are set to discuss thoroughly the proposed budget in a marathon session starting on Wednesday, 8 November.