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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider House to work longer weeks this month to pass P5.768-T 2024 budget on time

House to work longer weeks this month to pass P5.768-T 2024 budget on time

Published Sep 17, 2023 06:55 am

At A Glance

  • The House of Representatives will have extended work weeks for the rest of the month in a bid to stay on track with its target passage date of the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or national budget for 2024. 
  • The House members conduct plenary session from Monday to Wednesday.
  • If needed, the House of can still hold session until Sept. 29. 

House plenary.jpgThe House plenary (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The House of Representatives will have extended work weeks for the rest of the month in a bid to stay on track with its target passage date of the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or national budget for 2024.

“We will work morning and afternoon and on Thursday and Friday this week to meet our timeline. The national spending bill is the single most important piece of legislation Congress passes every year,” House Speaker Romualdez said in a statement Sunday, Sept. 17.

The 311-strong House will start plenary deliberations on the GAB on Tuesday, Sept. 19. But it will convene in plenary session Monday, Sept. 18 as per usual.

The House members conduct plenary session from Monday to Wednesday. Since Aug. 10, they've also also been attending the individual budget hearings of the Committee on Appropriations on the different agencies in the bureaucracy, even if they've been scheduled on a Thursday.

The Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co-chaired appropriations panel ended the per agency budget hearings last Sept. 12, paving the way for the plenary debates on Sept. 19.

The target is to have HB No.8980 approved on third and final reading by Sept. 27. Congress will go a month-long recession soon after.

Romualdez said the budget measure “will support the President’s prosperity and economic recovery roadmap".

“Through the national budget, we hope to sustain our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, create more income and job opportunities for our people, and improve their quality of life through the timely delivery of basic social services like education, healthcare, infrastructure, and financial aid,” he stressed.

GAB plenary debate schedule

Plenary debates on Tuesday morning on the proposed 2024 outlay will kick off with sponsorship speeches, followed by debates on general principles and provisions, and consideration of the budgets of the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Tourism (DOT), and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), including their attached agencies, and certain offices under the Office of the President (OP).

On deck on Wednesday are the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and more OP agencies.

On Thursday, the House will scrutinize the spending proposals of the judiciary, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Friday will see the chamber considering the budgets of Congress, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DOST), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), including their attached agencies, and funding support for several government corporations.

On Sept. 25, it will be the turn budgets of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Audit (COA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), and additional OP agencies to be considered.

Proposed appropriations of the OP, Office of the Vice President (OVP), Department of Education (DepEd), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and several other OP agencies; the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be tackled on Sept. 26.

Sept. 27, Wednesday, will be the last day of budget deliberation. To be taken up last are the funding proposals of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and lump-sum appropriations.

Related Tags

general appropriations bill plenary debates national budget House of Representatives Martin Romualdez
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