Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (Facebook)

An anti-inflation, pro-poor budget. 

That's how Committee on Appropriations Chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co described the prosposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024, which the House of Representatives ratified on Monday night, Dec. 11. 

Before this, the Bicameral Conference Committee, of which Co was a part of, approved next year's budget as laid out in the General Appropriations Bill (GAB). 

In a statement, Co said the key priorities of the P5.768-trillion budget for 2024 remain the same: education, healthcare, infrastructure, social services, social welfare, and many others.

“But apart from regular budget items, we’re most proud of three legacy projects that President Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez hope to fulfill through this budget. These include Legacy Food Security, Legacy Specialty Hospitals and Legacy Housing for the poor,” he said.

Co said the House contingent to the bicam fought hard to keep budget provisions to boost food production to fight inflation, assistance to poor and near poor families as well as social and medical services.

“Natutuwa din kami na tuluyan nang natanggal ang kontrobersyal na Confidential and Intelligence Funds na mitsa ng korapsyon. Salamat sa aming Senate counterparts sa pagsuporta sa aming panukalang alisin ang CIF at ilipat sa mga ahensyang may kaugnayan sa national security," he stressed. 

(We’re also pleased with the removal of the controversial Confidential and Intelligence Funds which has been the source of corruption. Thanks to our Senate counterparts for supporting our stand to remove CIF and transfer the funds instead to agencies involved in national security.)

Co said Congress is allocating P10 billion to support rice farmers through irrigation, free seeds, fertilizers and other farm inputs. Aside from job creation, the seed capital will ensure farmers’ income and lead to production of affordable and high quality local rice, he added.

Congress is also investing P60-billion for large scale irrigation projects like dams, water reservoirs and solar irrigation systems. “Through this budget we will expand irrigation coverage to boost food production. This is in line with the President’s target for the Philippines to be a food exporter before the end of his term,” Co noted.

Aside from rice and irrigation programs, he said Congress is allocating P25 billion to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to support other crops that the country produces.

Co says the construction of specialty hospitals that the President promised last year is continuing. Since the target is to finish these hospitals within three years, he said Congress again funded the following legacy hospital projects: Philippine General Hospital expansion (P1 billion); National Kidney Center’s 14-storey building (P1.5 billion); Philippine Children’s Medical Center (P1 billion); National Cancer Center (P1 billion); Bicol Regional Medical Center (P1 billion) and other specialty hospitals in Batangas, Cavite and Laguna.

“Aside from building special healthcare facilities, government will continue to provide free, high quality medical care and medicines to Filipinos,” he said.

Meanwhile, Co said the AICS or Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations and 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program will continue to be funded by Congress so it can provide financial assistance to jobless Filipinos.

In the 2024 budget, Co said the House contingent introduced a new P60-billion program called AKAP or Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program. Under AKAP, some 12 million households who earn less than P23,000 per month shall be entitled to government financial support. 

Finally, Co said the 2024 budget will also cover the President’s Legacy Housing for the Poor project. The flagship program aims to fill the housing backlog by constructing housing projects with government subsidy. 

Monthly amortization is only between P2,500 to P3,500 per unit--way cheaper than the similar housing projects of private developers with monthly amortizations of P15,000.