The P5.268-trillion proposed national budget is "still on track" for passage in the House of Representatives by Oct. 1, 2022.

This was the statement of House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co that was relayed to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 6 by committee Senior Vice Chairperson Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo during the weekly Ugnayan news forum.

"As of yesterday, 14 out of 34 agencies have briefed Congress regarding their respective budget proposals. With two more weeks of budget briefings, the appropriations committee, led by Chairperson Elizaldy Co, gladly shares that we are still on track with our target date to pass the GAB (General Appropriations Bill) by Oct.1, 2022," Quimbo said, who together with Co had led the marathon per agency deliberations before the panel this past week.

"On Sept. 16, we are expected to finish the budget hearings and head on to plenary debates by Sep. 21," the lady solon said.

The GAB is yet to be filed as the House members are still busy perusing the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) worth P5.268 trillion. The NEP is the basis of the GAB.

The House leadership earlier vowed to approve the GAB on third and final reading on or before Oct. 1, 2022.

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Quimbo quoted Co as saying, "“We can really see how the appropriations committee and all the members of the Congress are working hard to stick to the timeline without sacrificing the quality of the 2023 budget deliberations.

"Even before the budget hearings commenced, everyone took their tasks seriously by having clear communication lines with the agencies," she said, reading a prepared statement.

Quimbo said that "healthy exchanges" between departments and members of Congress transpired during the per agency budget deliberations, which began last Aug. 30.

"Thus far, the discussions revolved around some of the key spending priorities of the 2023 budget, which include the agriculture and fisheries modernization program and the total electrification program, among others," Quimbo said.

She said that devolution "was also a recurring issue", particularly during the budget briefings of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

"Lawmakers have shown concern regarding the capacity of LGUs (local government units) to be able to absorb the devolved functions from national agencies, especially with a smaller NTA (national tax allotment) from last year. Finally, we observed that digitalization is a common theme in the agencies' plans to improve their overall operations," she noted.

"That said, Congress still stands by its goal for the swift passage of the GAB to allow sufficient time for it to exercise its oversight functions. This way, we can ensure that the agencies will not only use their respective budgets for programs in alignment with the new administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda but will also be genuinely felt by the Filipino people who will benefit from their programs," Quimbo said.