BETTER DAYS

In the early days of our Republic, when the annual budget was barely P10 million, the coffers were downloaded by the retreating revolutionary government from trains in duffel bags. But today, in this era of trillions-peso expenditure plans, it is downloaded electronically. While the budget’s magnitude and the manner by which it is allocated has drastically changed, one bedrock principle remains: it has to be scrutinized and appropriated by the elected representatives of the people.

One thing has also remained constant—the national budget is more than a money bag. First and foremost, it is a toolbox for development. It funds our nation’s progress, turns our collective dreams into reality, and our people’s hopes into happiness.

This is why for the coming year the budget that the House of Representatives and the Senate ratified earlier this week finances our children’s education to the tune of ₱975.763 billion so we can nurture a national talent pool that can identify and seize opportunities, solve problems, and win the future.

The 2024 budget also appropriates a huge outlay for infrastructure, including hundreds of kilometers of roads, bridges, and railways so that people and their produce can be transported safely. It also allocates up to ₱221.659 billion for the agricultural sector, representing an increase of roughly 27.7 from the 2023 budget for the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies of ₱173.574 billion. This was done to address the scarcity of affordable food, and the poverty of those who grow and raise them, recognizing that no nation can survive if it does not reward the sweat of its farmers and fisherfolk.

Steps were also taken so that the 2024 budget bankrolls our health sector, represented by the Department of Health, to the tune of ₱319.089 billion, not just to cure the sick, but also to prevent more of our countrymen from falling ill, and our families from being one hospitalization away from bankruptcy.
The budget also downloads a little less than 20 percent of total appropriations to the regions, provinces, cities, and municipalities—through a national tax allotment worth ₱871.4 billion—so that our local government units and their communities will be empowered to pursue their own path to development and prosperity.

Sizable funds have also been set aside towards keeping our people secure in their homes, and our streets safe for our children, through increased allocations for the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Philippine Coast Guard, and our other uniformed personnel.
And then upon the instructions of Senate President Migz Zubiri, the 2024 budget also includes up to ₱238.357 billion for the Department of National Defense and its attached agencies, including the different service branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The budget is also the means through which we shield our territory from intruders, and uphold our sovereignty across our waters.

The budget is also an emergency kit. It brings relief to people hit by misfortunes, repairs places devastated by calamities, and rebuilds livelihood wrecked by disaster—such as the homes shaken by the recent earthquakes in Mindanao or inundated by floods in Samar. Hence, the budget sets aside ₱21 billion for the national disaster risk reduction and management or NDRRM Fund, formerly known as the calamity fund, not just for responses to, but resilience against, calamities, of which, due to our geographic misfortune, we withstand many annually.

This budget is a huge safety net, setting aside funds for various forms of ayuda, across several agencies, in programs that will not only catch those who have fallen between the cracks, but installs a scaffolding through which they can pull themselves up. Such ayuda includes government’s longstanding conditional cash transfer program, financial assistance during crisis situations, cash-for-work initiatives, social pensions for indigent senior citizens, supplemental feeding, and even fuel subsidies for the transport sector, as well as our farmers and fisherfolk.

Ultimately, the national budget is more than a mere spreadsheet of numbers. It is a manifesto of the values we share—an expression of our collective aspirations as a nation. And as it aligns closely to the avowed goals of the Marcos administration to usher in a new Philippines, the 2024 budget is another year’s embodiment of our shared commitment to building a better, more prosperous, more nurturing, and more humane society. ([email protected]| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara)

(Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 19 years — nine years as Representative of the lone district of Aurora, and 10 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate. )