The Senate will work for the early approval of the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 as it resumes its regular sessions this Monday, November 7, Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said on Sunday, November 6.

Zubiri said he expects the approval of the 2023 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on the third week of this month.

Senator Sonny Angara, Senate Finance Committee chairperson is expected to sponsor the committee report on the national budget upon the opening of the session, according to Zubiri.

“We will go straight to the budget deliberations in the plenary,” Zubiri said.

The Senate leader also said the Upper Chamber will hold marathon hearings on the budget, with morning and afternoon sessions, to finish the deliberations until the second and third reading approval of the budget measure.

“With the hard work and commitment of all our fellow senators, we expect to have two weeks of marathon plenary deliberations, and hopefully we can have it approved on third reading in the Senate as early as the third week of November,” the Senate leader said.

Zubiri assured that the Senate is fully on track with the budget schedule that have been laid out.

Sub-committees of the finance panel have also, he said, “carefully combed over our agencies' programs and spending” even after the session adjourned last October 1 “to ensure that the 4.9 percent increase from this year's budget is warranted, and is crucial to the country's continued recovery from the pandemic.”

“I am grateful to all our hardworking senators for ably steering their respective sub-committees, and for keeping us on track with our budget timeline,” Zubiri said.

“With everyone keeping the same work ethic and urgency to the plenary, we expect to spend about two weeks in marathon plenary deliberations, and we will hopefully be able to approve the budget as early as the third week of November,” he said.

Zubiri also said he foresees the 2023 national budget being approved by the bicameral conference committee around second week of December.

Zubiri and Angara earlier revealed the Senate’s plan to adjust the proposed P30-billion calamity fund in the proposed budget for next year to make the country’s budget more receptive to future natural and man-made disasters.

Zubiri said there is a need to adjust the calamity funds in consideration of the recent earthquake in Abra, and the recent onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng which devastated huge swaths of land in the country and displaced thousands of people.

“Our 2023 budget will definitely have to be reconsidered, reviewed, and adjusted—not only for the rehabilitation of affected communities, but also to strengthen the capacity of the NDRRMC and related agencies and local governments,” he said, referring to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

“We need to fix our fragmented disaster management efforts and adopt a whole-of-government approach going forward,” he stressed.

Last September, President Marcos Jr. also certified the 2023 GAB as urgent so the government can sustain its efforts towards national economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.