Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has agreed with Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno on the need to craft a medium-term fiscal plan, which the 19th Congress will institutionalize via a joint resolution.
This was revealed by Salceda on Monday, July 18, after he met Diokno last weekend to discuss the government’s fiscal management strategy under President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
The lawmaker, who is expected to retain his post as House Ways and Means Committee chairman, said they agreed on a fiscal plan that “takes into account revenue as well as expenditure projections until 2028,” or Marcos’s last year in office.
Salceda added he committed to file the Joint Resolution, “awaiting the incoming Speaker’s instructions".
Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez is the presumptive House speaker ahead of the opening of the 19th Congress on July 25.
The committee, chaired by Salceda, is ready to provide the needed legislative support for the revenue base under the joint resolution.
He noted the six-year plan where the Marcos administration seeks to increase revenues to
17.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and reduce expenditures of GDP to 20.6 percent.
“In other words, the plan will aim to narrow the deficit to just three percent by the end of PBBM’s term,” Salceda said.
“That, of course, will depend highly on growing our GDP, and outgrowing our debt,” he added.
Under the fiscal program, the government aims to hit an average annual growth rate of 6.5 to 8 percent and five to six percent in infrastructure spending.
It also seeks to reduce national government debt-to-GDP to 52.5 percent by 2028.
Diokno earlier said Marcos will outline this plan in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week.
Salceda cited that the goals will be institutionalized through a Joint Resolution of Congress, similar to the Joint Resolution 1, 2018 on the Military and Uniformed Personnel Salaries.
“It will commit the government to a set of specific objectives and targets, and will guide the fiscal and spending policies of Congress and the national government.”
At the same time, Salceda said the Marcos administration will identify key economic priorities, such as agricultural development, reduction of logistics and transport costs, reduction of energy costs, sound fiscal management, health, education, social protection, and government efficiency.
Apart from the joint resolution, Salceda has also asked the incoming House leadership to immediately constitute the Committee on Rules and the House delegation to the Commission on Appointments, so that “the Cabinet could be confirmed as soon as possible, and so that they can get to work immediately".