BETTER DAYS
In just seven weeks after his administration was formally inaugurated in late June of this year, President Bongbong Marcos transmitted to Congress his government’s proposed budget for 2023, otherwise known as the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
The NEP details the government’s spending priorities for the coming year, which both houses of Congress in turn deliberate on and make amendments to (within certain parameters) before approving it as the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the President’s final approval and signature.
The result of this process is the national budget, which is essentially a document that lists all the items that the Legislative Branch has authorized the Executive to spend for in the coming year, in pursuit of avowed national objectives. The budget is more than just a spreadsheet of numbers though; it is really an annual development plan. And in that sense, it represents the concrete steps that government wants to take in pursuit of the country’s collective aspirations.
President Marcos said just as much in his budget message to Congress. He underscored that the ₱5.628-trillion spending plan his government was proposing was anchored on an agenda for prosperity, whose overarching objective was to orchestrate the transformation of the Philippine economy “from one that is reactive, where our people suffer the effects of economic shocks, to one that is proactive, where our people are prepared and our economy is spared.”
It was with all these considerations and more that Congress made changes to the President’s proposed budget, as encapsulated in the 2023 GAA that we recently approved. While some agencies received less than what was originally proposed, we took steps as chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance to make sure that the ones critical to the nation’s recovery were provided more funding support.
For instance, given that food security stands as among the top priorities of President Marcos, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agencies will collectively receive in 2023 up to ₱98.864 billion which is roughly ₱30.29 billion more than what was appropriated for 2022. Much of this funding will be funneled towards the national programs of the DA for rice, corn, high-value crops development, livestock, organic agriculture, and urban and peri-urban agriculture.
Note that this does not include some P55.991 billion in budgetary support for government corporations attached to the DA, such as the National Dairy Authority, the National Irrigation Administration, the Philippine Coconut Authority, and the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, among several others. We understood it to be absolutely essential that in the face of high-inflation, adequate support should be given to programs that boost domestic production of food and agricultural products.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) and its attached agencies are set to receive up to ₱209.624 billion in 2023, which is ₱25.737 billion more than the appropriations it received in 2022. Such funding includes standby funds for the purchase of more vaccines (not just for Covid-19), for the hiring of emergency vaccinators, and for the establishment of specialty care centers in areas outside of Metro Manila — an advocacy close to the heart of the President.
While the economy is quickly reopening after the pandemic and people are able to get back to work, the government will be prepared to provide social assistance or ayuda albeit in a more targeted fashion. For instance, the conditional cash transfers under the long-running Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will continue. This will run alongside other DSWD programs such as the Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances and the Sustainable Livelihood Program, and the emergency employment programs of DOLE like the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program or TUPAD, or the fuel vouchers and subsidies provided under the DA and the DOTr.
We in Congress also made sure to adhere to the constitutional directive of ascribing the highest budgetary priority to education. This is why the Department of Education (DepEd) and its attached agencies is set to receive ₱678.317 billion, which is ₱85,652 billion more than its allocation for 2022. And also why SUCs will collectively receive ₱13.712 billion more than what the government originally proposed in its 2023 NEP.
All these and more constitute the funding Congress has approved for the agenda for prosperity which the government will pursue in the coming years. We in Congress saw it important to provide as much support as possible because this 2023 budget stands as the first of the new Marcos administration. We merely hoped to set the new government off to a good start.
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Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 18 years — nine years as Representative of the lone district of Aurora, and nine as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.