Marcos to sign 2024 nat'l budget soon; final bicam report awaited
While the expected signing of the 2024 national budget before his Japan trip this week did not push through, President Marcos said it may happen in the coming days.

Marcos said they are just waiting for the bicameral committee to finalize the final version of the P5.768-trillion national budget for next year.
"Wala pa yatang report ang bicam (There is still no report from the Bicameral Committee). We're waiting for that. So, they’re putting the finishing touches on it," Marcos said in a media interview on Friday, Dec. 15, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Poblacion Water Treatment Plant in Muntinlupa City.
"Baka (Maybe) today or the day— in the coming days. But certainly, the minute it is finalized then we will immediately, of course, pass the budget," he added.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said last month that Marcos could sign the proposed 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) before he leaves for Japan for the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.
Marcos will be leaving for Tokyo on Friday, Dec. 15.
The President, however, expressed optimism that the budget will be signed in the coming days as he does not see any issues arising to delay its signing.
"We have been going through the consultations through the whole of the year for that matter and I would be very surprised if there are other issues that will suddenly arise that we hadn't anticipated or hadn’t resolved, put it that way. So, I don’t see any problem to that," he said.