The Senate on Tuesday, November 21 ended the plenary debates on the proposed P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2024 at 4:42 a.m. in the morning.
Senators pose for a brief photo opportunity after ending the long period of debates for the proposed P5.768-trillion 2024 national budget that started at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 and ended at 4:42 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (Photo courtesy of O/S Juan Miguel Zubiri)
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, is set to introduce amendments to the measure, before it would be approved on second, and then third and final reading.
Among the highlights of the nine-day marathon hearings on the budget include Vice President Sara Duterte’s decision to drop the proposed confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) worth P650-million combined.
The Senate also decreased the proposed confidential funds of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ); agencies that dropped their request for the controversial secret funds were the Department of Finance (DOF) and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Once approved on third and final reading by the Senate, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives will convene the bicameral conference committee to tackle the disagreeing provisions of the 2024 GAB.
After which, both Houses will ratify the final version of the GAB and submit the document to Malacañang for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s signature.
In his sponsorship speech earlier, Angara said next year’s budget will continue the funding for the Marcos government’s flagship programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Build Better More program, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and the Tulong Trabaho Act.
The Senate finance chief had also said the Upper Chamber is targetting the final approval of the measure on the first or second week of December.