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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Here are the P194-B institutional amendments to the 2024 GAB

Here are the P194-B institutional amendments to the 2024 GAB

Published Oct 10, 2023 09:39 am

At A Glance

  • Some P194 billion worth of realignments--a lot of which have to do with addressing the problem of fast inflation--have been identified in the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2024. 

20230715_182553-01.jpeg(MANILA BULLETIN)

 

 

 

 

 

Some P194 billion worth of realignments--a lot of which have to do with addressing the problem of fast inflation--have been identified in the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2024. 

This was bared in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 10 by members of the "small committee" that had been tasked to collate the individual House members' amendments to the budget measure. 

"Our panel introduced a total of P194 billion in institutional amendments. The main goal was to rationalize the allocation of resources to fight inflation and invest in human capital and our country's future," small committee member Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo told reporters. 

"To enhance food production and combat inflation, especially the high cost of rice, the small committee made the following changes to the 2024 proposed budget: 

"P20 billion to DA (Department of Agriculture) for the rice subsidy program, to help sell rice at subsidized prices; P40 billion to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to install solar-driven irrigation pumps and subsidize communal irrigation; P2 billion to the Philippine Coconut Authority for massive planting/replanting of seedlings; P1.5 billion for vaccines against the African Swine Fever (ASF); and P1 billion to the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority to construct fishery and post-harvest facilities in Palawan and Kalayaan Group of Islands," she said. 

Quimbo also identified realignments for the purpose of "investing in people and the country’s future", namely: 

P43.9 billion to the DOH (Department of Health) for Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP), legacy and specialty hospitals,cancer assistance, communicable diseases program, and health facility enhancement; P1 billion to UP Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for MAIP; and P35 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) and Sustainable Livelihood Program. 

Also due for reallocation under next year's budget bill are P17.5 billion to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the TUPAD program or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantage/Displaced Workers/ Government Internship Program, P10.4 billion to the DOLE-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Training for Work Scholarship Program; and P17.1 billion for the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) Tertiary Education Subsidy and Tulong Dunong Program. 

Included under the P194-billion institutional amendments was the realignment of five agencies' confidential funds worth a total of P1.23 billion. 

The money was realigned to the following frontline agencies in charge of monitoring and protecting the country’s territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS): P300 million to National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), P100 million to the National Security Council (NSC), P200 million to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for intelligence activities and ammunition, and P381.8 million to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the development/ expansion of Pag-asa Island Airport. 

The amount allocated from the confidential funds is only part of the P3-billion total funding for the Pag-asa island infrastructure projects, the small committee said. 

Meanwhile, instead of confidential funds, the following agencies will receive the following amounts for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE): P30 million for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), P25 million for Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), P30 million for Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), P50 million for the Office of the Ombudsman, and P150 million for DepEd’s Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE), Quimbo said.

The five agencies stripped of their confidential funds by the small committee were the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Departments of Education (DepEd), DICT, DA, and DFA. 

The other three small committee members are appropriations panel Charman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe, and House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan. 

The 2024 GAB--the biggest in the country’s history--was approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives last Sept. 27.
 

Related Tags

National Budget general appropriations bill realignments stella quimbo
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