Malacañang said the Executive Branch is set to submit its proposed national budget for 2023 to Congress on August 22, days after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submits the necessary documents to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles made this disclosure after a special Cabinet meeting on Friday morning.
In a statement, Angeles said the DBM would submit the Budget Documents to Marcos on August 19, not next week, as she mentioned in her press briefing on July 29.
She added that Marcos would submit the proposed budget to Congress on August 22, giving the President four days, at most, to review the budget.
"DBM is scheduled to submit the Budget Documents to the President on 19 August 2022, not next week as mentioned earlier in the press briefing, and the same is expected to be submitted to Congress on August 22, 2022," she said.
According to Angeles, the DBM will print the Budget Documents, which include the National Expenditure Program (NEP), Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, Staffing Summary, and the President’s Budget Message.
On Friday, Angeles said that the proposed 2023 budget was still undergoing "fine-tuning" and assured the public that it would be submitted to Congress on time.
The Palace Official said rightsizing is still a priority of the Marcos administration, but the biggest budgetary allocation would still go to the Education sector.
Last week, Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez said President Marcos would focus on the 2023 budget after his State of the Nation Address (SONA).