Senate vows to pass P4.506-T 2021 nat'l budget on time
The Senate will pass the proposed P4.506-trillion national budget for 2021 on time to help the government accelerate its programs aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of public services to the people.
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, assured that the Senate will start working on the budget once it receives a copy of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) from Malacañang.
“We don’t want a repeat of 2019 when government had to operate on a reenacted 2018 national budget for five months, which led to serious delays in the implementation of key programs and projects and slower GDP growth,” Angara said.
He said delays in the approval of the national budget puts a lot of pressure on the different government agencies to utilize available appropriations in a shorter period of time.
This ends up with inefficiencies in the utilization of funds and as such is a disservice to the people who want to see that their taxes are being put to good use, the senator stressed.
“This is especially important now that we are still grappling with a pandemic and we need to implement key programs to address its impacts,” he pointed out.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the proposed P4.506-trillion national budget for 2021 is 9.9 percent higher than this year’s budget and is equivalent to 21.8 percent of GDP.
According to the DBM, the 2021 national budget will primarily sustain government efforts towards battling the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing government spending on improving healthcare systems, ensuring food security, increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure, and helping communities cope and prevail during these trying times.
State economic managers said the 2021 budget has the theme “Reset, Rebound, and Recover: Investing for Resiliency and Sustainability.”
“The key word here is resiliency. We need to demonstrate that our economy can remain robust in spite of the severe challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Angara said.