There was a time, a few decades
ago, when it was perceived that the national budget of the Philippines for a
year reaching hundreds of billions of pesos was a big budget indeed. Then there
was a time only a few years back when the same perception could be said of a
national budget reaching a trillion pesos or two. But as time goes on the
expected expenses not only multiply, they cost more too. Long story short, the
2020 Philippine budget proposal has been considered and stamped by the
President, and looking at the final figure can be eye-boggling.
CNN Philippines reports that indeed, President Rodrigo Duterte gave
his approval alongside the Cabinet on the national budget for next year,
following a meeting with the Cabinet secretaries held on Monday, August 5. According
to Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, the proposed 2020 budget is to
the tune of P4.1 trillion, continuing the expected trend of an ever-rising
budget amount with the passing of years. To digest this point, the 2019
national budget that was only ratified this May and being used right now is
only at P3.66 trillion, making its potential successor bigger by 12%. The
current budget was delayed in implementation by legislators calling out certain
allocation realignments post-ratification.
In
an in-depth look, the top share of next year’s national budget allocations are
for infrastructure development, in line with the President’s “Build, Build,
Build” approach to revitalizing the economy through transport networks and the
like. Speaking of which, transportation gets a significant share as well, along
with public health, education, and implementation of key programs, such as the
Bangsamoro Organic Law to completely organize the BARMM government, and the new
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), which came into
being this February.
According to Sal Panelo, the
priorities of the 2020 national budget proposal are to hopefully eliminate certain
shortages that Filipinos have been putting up with for decades: lack basic
necessities, basic services, economic infrastructure, government accountability
for use of allocations, and education among many others. He too points out the
importance of these sectors in the budget allotment saying, “We assure everyone
that our people's money, with education receiving the biggest slice of the
budget, followed by public works, transportation, and health, will be spent
wisely to reach a state of vibrant economy that will be felt by the citizenry.”
With the P4.1 trillion budget
proposal approved, it now goes to Congress where both houses will scrutinize
the allotments and pass their respective budget bills for reconciliation and
deliverance for the President’s signature. The House of Representatives has
marked October as their deadline for a budget bill while the Senate has
announced theirs for December. Ideally they hope to have President Duterte sign
the finalized 2020 budget by December 31.
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