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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House sets period for plenary debates on P5.768-T national budget

House sets period for plenary debates on P5.768-T national budget

Published Sep 14, 2023 05:18 am

At A Glance

  • It's basically all systems go for the plenary debates of the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2024 after the House Committee on Appropriations approved on Thursday morning, Sept. 14 the schedule for the proceedings. 

IMG-ba41bb8c2bd980d7fdf5cd7d66bdecde-V.jpgThe House plenary hall (Contributed photo)

It's basically all systems go for the plenary debates of the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2024 after the House Committee on Appropriations approved on Thursday morning, Sept. 14 the schedule for the proceedings.

"We approved the bill in the committee level so that’s the committee report and we also approved the schedule of the plenary debates," Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the committee, told House reporters following a closed-door execom meeting.

"So we are beginning [the plenary debates] Sept. 19 and hopefully approving the bill on third reading Sept. 27," she said.

This means that the House leadership is aiming to accomplish Speaker Martin Romualdez's goal of wrapping up the plenary debates as giving final approval to the GAB in roughly a week.

The GAB, embodied in House Bill (HB) No.8980, was based on the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) that emanated from Malacañang. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted the NEP to the House a month ago.

In the succeeding four weeks, the Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co-chairperson appropriations panel painstakingly scrutinized the spending plan on a per agency basis. Some of these budget hearings lasted over 10 hours.

Quimbo bared that there were a few technical changes made during the 2024 NEP's transition into the GAB.

"One is the validity [period] of the budget. So we changed it from one and a half years for MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses), to two years," she said.

"And then the other is on--the we put in a special provision on the chapter for Congress to ensure the--independence of the Congress. Meaning that, that provision will ensure the...Congress as a co-equal branch of government.

"In other words, we removed a phrase that requires Congress to submit a report to the executive," added Quimbo. Congress is composed of the House and the Senate, which would get its hands on the GAB later this year.

Quimbo said "everything else remains the same", including the confidential funds in the proposed national budget.

She said the requirement for the publication of Commission on Audit (COA) reports--which the Office of the Ombudsman wanted removed--was also left intact.

Related Tags

general appropriations bill national expenditure program national budget Martin Romualdez stella quimbo
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