President Marcos’ chief economic manager said he will support the passage of a supplemental budget for next year should there will be a need to further boost the country’s economic growth.

At the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing with the House Appropriations Committee on Friday, Aug. 26, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the government is open to spend more than P5.268 trillion in 2023.

But Diokno pointed out that his support for a supplemental budget will hinge on the available revenues and financing as well as the status of the projects to be funded.

“If there is additional resources available to us, either through maybe new loans or maybe additional revenues coming from say privatization of some corporations, we will be willing to support a supplemental budget,” Diokno said.

“If there are ready to implement projects, and we have the money, then we better spend it now rather than say, a year from now,” he added.

Diokno made the pronouncement after Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente Salceda raised that the proposed actual cash expenditure of the government next year will be P176 billion less than in 2022.

Salceda feared that the much lower actual cash expenditure may dragged down the country’s goal of growing the economy by seven percent in 2023.

Meanwhile, the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) assured legislators that the Marcos administration’s proposed national budget for next year will propel economic recovery and rapid expansion, anchored on eight-point socioeconomic agenda.

Diokno said the new administration will focus on productive spending to stimulate economic growth in 2023.

For instance, Diokno said the government will spend around five percent to six percent for public infrastructure investments because they the highest multiplier effect in the economy.

The government will also eliminate imprudent spending through the rightsizing of government agencies, among other efficiency-enhancing initiatives, the finance chief said.

Moreover, he added that the tax reform laws that the Duterte administration enacted in the previous Congress helped transform the Philippines into one of the fastest growing economies in the region.

In the first half of 2022, the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), grew by 7.8 percent, which is above the DBCC’s full-year growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.

According to Diokno, the economy only needs to grow by 5.2 percent to 7.2 percent in the second half of the year to meet the full-year growth rate target for 2022.

Meanwhile, House Committee on Appropriations Chair and Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Elizaldy S. Co assured his cooperation in ensuring that President Marcos' first full-year budget would be passed into law before the Christmas break.

Co also said he will ensure that every peso in the government budget will be spent wisely for the people.

“The ball is now in the hands of the Committee, whatever disposition we shall take. We must act and work together to scrutinize every aspect of this budget to ensure that it is consistent with the socio-economic agenda of the President,” Co said in his opening remarks.

“We shall guarantee that every peso authorized in this budget is directed to address food security and inflation, reduce poverty, and provide the necessary stimulus for economic transformation,” he added.

Co also assured that his committee will work hard, without sacrificing its independence, in ensuring that President Marcos can sign the 2023 national budget before December 25.

“When the Speaker received it last Monday, the instruction was clear, for the Committee to act with dispatch without sacrificing its independence to pass this budget before the Christmas break,” he said.

Last August 22, the Department of Budget and Management submitted the 2023 national expenditure program, which will be the basis of the General Appropriations Act that the House will pass with the concurrence of the Senate.

“Let’s work hard and work together to accomplish this task assigned to us by the Filipino people to ascertain their future prosperity and advancement,” Co said.