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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Gatchalian: Senate version of 2023 national budget features social safety nets amid economic recovery

Gatchalian: Senate version of 2023 national budget features social safety nets amid economic recovery

Published Nov 18, 2022 12:37 pm

Next year's proposed P5.268-trillion national budget has social safety nets that seek to support economic recovery amid the uncertainties brought mainly by the

Russia-Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Friday, November 18.

Gatchalian made the statement after the Upper Chamber finished the period of interpellation for the proposed 2023 budget early morning after holding marathon hearings.

“We recognize the need to support marginalized sectors of our society, but this should be targeted, which means only those in dire need should receive aid from the government,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

“We have instituted social safety nets such as subsidies for fuel, subsidies for the poorest of the poor, and other energy-related subsidies as we expect external factors such as the Russia-Ukraine issue and the COVID-19 pandemic to persist in 2023,” said the senator who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance Sub-Committee E.

As long as the Russia-Ukraine conflict is there, he said crude oil prices are likely to be around $90 per barrel by next year and we see local pump prices to hover around P70-P90 per liter.

"This means we still need to give subsidy, but this should be targeted,” he said.

The existing subsidies provided by the government to cushion the impact of these two crises include the subsidy for the transport sector called the Pantawid Pasada Program and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for the poorest of the poor.

Other energy-related subsidies include the electrification programs of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Electrification Administration (NEA), the fuel and off grid electrification for rural areas, and the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF) to fund electric cooperatives in restoring distribution lines damaged by typhoons and other natural calamities, the senator noted.

The Senate’s version of the 2023 budget carries a total of P110.61-billion allocation for the 4Ps program while the Pantawid Pasada program carries a proposed budget of P5-billion.

For energy-related subsidies, the DOE electrification has a budget of P500-million, P1.6-billion for NEA electrification, and P200-million for ECERF.

“The Senate is making sure that protective mechanisms that would support vulnerable sectors are sufficiently backed in terms of budgetary support," Gatchalian said.

"Kung sino ang talagang nangangailangan, sila ang dapat bigyan ng ayuda (those who are really need should be given financial aid)," Gatchalian reiterated.

Related Tags

2023 national budget Economic recovery Sherwin Gatchalian
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