The House Committee on Appropriations–the panel that has led the 2023 budget deliberations–has recognized the efforts of the minority bloc for their scrutiny of the P5.268-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget.
Appropriations panel Senior Vice Chairperson Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo conveyed the panel’s recognition during an Ugnayan sa Batasan News Forum on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
"Since the debates started, the members have been staying in the plenary from morning ‘till night and we’ll continue to do so – kahit abutin pa ng hating gabi para matapos ang lahat ng ahensiya (even if they have to stay late at night in order to conclude all the agency hearings),” Quimbo said, quoting a statement from appropriations panel Chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co.
“Dagdag pa rito, ang majority ay naging masugid na sponsors ng budget ng mga ahensya habang ang minority naman ay naging epektibong fiscalizers upang masigurong maayos na nakikilatis ang proposed budget (Additionally, the majority members were passionate sponsors of the agency budgets while the minority members served as effective fiscalizers in ensuring the proper development of the budget),” she continued.
The House minority bloc is headed by 4Ps Party-list Rep. Nonoy Libanan.
While she acknowledged that much still needs to be done before the passage of the budget, Quimbo said that both the majority and the minority were aligned in passing an inclusive budget.
"There may still be a lot of concerns that we need to address, but I believe that the members are anchored to the same vision of passing a budget that is aligned with the needs of the districts and the marginalized sectors," Quimbo added.
During the same news forum, the Marikina solon said that plenary debates on the 2023 GAB, or House Bill (HB) 4488, would be concluded by Wednesday, Sept. 28. Expected to follow is the successive second and third reading passage of the budget measure.
The budget will be sent to the Senate, and then--following tweaks by way of a bicameral conference committee meeting--to the desk of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
The House leadership previously promised to approve the budget before the House of Representatives goes into a month-long recess on Oct. 1.