Duterte signs P3.767-T budget

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte yesterday signed into law next year’s national budget that he said was designed to significantly reduce poverty.

The President signed the P3.767-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2018 along with the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“Let me emphasize that this budget is a credible budget and I assure everyone that this will be supported by the comprehensive tax reform program embodied by the TRAIN, subject to several line vetoes, which shall be discussed separately in my veto message,” Duterte said. The President’s veto message was not immediately available.

“The implementation of these laws will serve as our national, initial step towards cutting the poverty rate to 14 percent and making the Philippines an upper middle class (country) by 2022,” he added.

Duterte said next year’s budget, which is 12 percent higher than this year’s outlay, would primarily support infrastructure development, free education in state universities and colleges, universal health care, free irrigation and the maintenance of peace and order across the country.

The budget would also double the basic pay of soldiers and police officers, a promise that the President made at the start of his term.

Agencies with the highest budgetary allocations are the Department of Education (P553.3 billion), Department of the Interior and Local Government (P170.8 billion), Department of National Defense (P149.7 billion), Department of Social Welfare and Development (P141.8 billion), Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies (P103.07 billion), Department of Transportation (P70.9 billion), Department of Finance (P48.07 billion) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (P24.9 billion).

Social services including education, health and social security got P1.42 trillion, while economic services including agriculture, tourism, trade, natural resources, power and energy was allotted P1.15 trillion.

General public services like public order and security and general administration was given P655 billion, while defense got P161.5 billion.

Dubbed as a “budget that reforms and transforms,” the 2018 outlay is the largest budget to date and is equivalent to 21.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the budget would support the government’s aim to achieve a robust economic growth of seven to eight percent next year.

“The passage of 2018 GAA and TRAIN is not just a victory for the legislative and executive branches of government, it is a victory for our people,” the President said.