Enactment by year end of the proposed P5.024-trillion national budget will be on schedule after the House of Representatives made good is pledge to submit the 2022 spending plan on or before October 27.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco disclosed that the Lower House sent to the Senate the printed copies of the House approved 2022 General Appropriations Bion Monday, October 25, two days ahead of schedule.

“In line with our commitment to ensure the timely enactment of next year’s national budget, we have transmitted to the Senate the 2022 GAB duly approved by the House ahead of schedule,” Velasco said.

“In doing so, we hope to give our senators reasonable time to scrutinize and pass their own version of the GAB as we look forward to the bicameral conference where we can thresh out and reconcile the differing provisions of the House and Senate versions,” the House official said..

According to Velasco the timely submission of the budget measure guarantees that Congress will be on schedule in enrolling the bill for President Duterte’s signature by December.

The budget measures submitted by the Lower House contained amendments that sought the re-alignment of P65.5 billion to various programs of different government departments.

Velasco said that with the gradual full reopening of the economy, it is hoped that the “proposed P5.024 trillion national budget will help propel the country to a strong recovery next year.

He underscored the importance of enacting the national budget before the start of the fiscal year on January 1, 2022 cannot be overstated.

“We cannot afford a reenacted budget, which is expected to dampen the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis,” Velasco pointed out.

“A reenacted budget will definitely ruin our efforts to build back better and deliver much-needed services for our kababayans amid the pandemic,” he added.