Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Thursday, Aug. 3, denied that the agriculture sector will get a lower budget allocation under the proposed P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2024. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman (RTVM screenshot) She explained the matter after the release of the 2024 NEP showed that the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) has a proposed P801.2-billion budget compared to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) P181.4 billion. The official said the seemingly slow increase in DA’s proposed budget was because of its high base point under the current 2023 national budget. “Iyong sa DA po (With the DA), if you will remember we increased already the budget of DA and DAR this year by 30 percent. So, ang ibig sabihin po noon nagsimula na po yung mataas yung base natin for 2023. And then 2024, dinagdagan pa natin ng additional six percent, so mataas na po (it means the base for 2023 was high. And then for 2024, we added an additional six percent, so it’s higher),” she added during a press briefing in Malacañang. Pangandaman also said they are being “consistent” with the Marcos administration’s medium-term fiscal framework regarding DPWH’s budget. The goal under the medium-term fiscal framework is for infrastructure spending to reach 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). She maintained that the Marcos administration remains committed to allocate sufficient funding for the agricultural sector, with the Chief Executive at the helm of DA in a concurrent capacity. “For the past two decades, ‘yung agriculture sector po natin napakababa po ng funding and investment natin po diyan (we have a very low funding and investment on our agriculture sector),” the official said. “I think (under) this administration tumataas po ang budget sa agriculture sector (there is higher budget for the agriculture sector),” she added. Under the proposed 2024 NEP, which was transmitted to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Aug. 2, agriculture agencies—including the DA, it's attached corporations, and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)—will get P181.4 billion next year. The NEP proposed a P31.2 billion allocation for irrigation services, P30.9 billion for the National Rice Program, P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), and P9 billion for the Buffer Stocking Program. Under the current 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA), these agencies received an allocation of P173.6 billion.