The Senate received on Tuesday afternoon the P4.5-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2021 which had been passed by the House of Representatives.

The House transmitted to the Upper Chamber soft and hard copies of its approved government spending plan at 4:51 p.m. of October 27, documents from the office of Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara showed.

The submission of the budget bill was earlier than the October 28 deadline requested by the Senate leadership to avoid the delay in the passage of the priority measure.

"I wish to thank and congratulate Speaker Lord Velasco for the swift transmission. It's even one day ahead of my original request that they send it on the 28th (of October)," Senate President Vicente Sotto III said in a text message.

"This will somehow ease the burden on us to insure the passage and signing of PRRD (President Duterte) before Christmas," he added.

Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee, is expected to sponsor the budget bill for plenary debates on November 10, said his office.

In the meantime, senators would study the copy given by their counterparts. Its contents would also be included it in the Senate finance committee's report from their budget hearings.

Angara also thanked the House for making good its commitment to send to the Senate the GAB by October 28.

"This gives us time to go over the amendments made to the NEP as we start drafting the committee report on the budget measure," Angara said in a statement later.

"We await the submissions of our Finance Committee vice chairpersons who are in the process of completing their respective reports. We endeavor to come up with the committee report on or before November 10 and start the plenary debates on the measure," he added.

Angara said the House's transmittal of the budget bill, "also gives us greater confidence in being able to pass the 2021 national budget in December and leave the President with enough time to go over the bill and sign it before the year ends."

"This shows that all the members of Congress are cognizant of the need to approve the budget on time, now more than ever because of the challenges our country is facing due to the pandemic," he added.

In transmitting the GAB to the Senate, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said their approved budget bill was passed in a "constitutional and legal manner". A small committee had inserted amendments to the budget bill following its approval on third and final reading, and before its submission to the Senate.

The Senate will resume sessions on November 9.