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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Ball is now in our hands': House panel commences 2023 budget hearings

'Ball is now in our hands': House panel commences 2023 budget hearings

Published Aug 26, 2022 11:01 am

The House Committee on Appropriations has officially commenced the detailed, per agency deliberations of the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP)

The Committee on Appropriations presides over the first budget hearing on Friday, Aug. 28 at the House of Representatives Session Hall (MANILA BULLETIN)

Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations AKO BICOL Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co presided over the first hearing on Friday morning, Aug. 26, at the House plenary hall. Members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) were scheduled to make presentations and answer questions from solons.

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Sec. Amenah Pangandaman, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Arsenio Balisacan, and senior officials of the agencies took part in the hearing.

The DOF, DBM, BSP, NEDA, and the Office of the President comprise the DBCC.

"When the Speaker received it last Monday, the instruction was clear, for the Committee to act with dispatch without sacrificing its independence to pass this budget before the Christmas break," Co said in his opening remarks.

READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/22/house-receives-2023-national-budget-proposal-here-are-the-top-5-priority-sectors/

"The ball is now in the hands of the Committee, whatever disposition we shall take. We must act and work together to scrutinize every aspect of this budget to ensure that it is consistent with the socio-economic agenda of the President. We shall guarantee that every peso authorized in this budget is directed to address food security and inflation, reduce poverty, and provide the necessary stimulus for economic transformation," the party-list solon continued.

The 2023 NEP will serve as the basis of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB). It will need to be approved by Congress and get the signature of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in order to be enacted as the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, appropriations panel senior vice chairperson, expressed her confidence in the upcoming budget hearings.

"The administration called the budget an 'Agenda for Prosperity towards economic transformation, inclusivity, and sustainability.' The role of Congress is to efficiently allocate each centavo to programs that fulfill the worthy objectives of the Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), notably, job creation and poverty reduction," Quimbo said in her opering remarks.

"Kaya kahit ngayon yung unang araw ng formal deliberation ng ating budget, ang katotohanan, ay ilang linggo na rin nagpepresent ang mga ahensya sa iba't-ibang grupo at partido ng mga kapwang congressman (Even now on the first day of formal budget deliberations, the truth is, the agencies have been presenting for weeks to different groups and parties of our fellow congressmen).This is why we are confident that despite the daunting task ahead, we shall endure and be able to approve the GAB by Oct. 1, thereby avoiding delays," she explained.

The Marikineño even shared an anecdote about her working relationship with the aforementioned DBCC members summoned by the House Committee as resource speakers.

"This team is undoubtedly formidable, led by Pangandaman, Diokno, Balisacan, and Medalla...I spent 26 years with these individuals as faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Economic, and believe me: we always debated and often disagreed among each other. But, if there's one thing I can assure my colleagues about their character, it's that their love for this country is beyond question," she added.

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