House to approve P2.6-T 2015 budget on Wednesday

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives will approve the proposed P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget on third and final reading on Wednesday.

Approval comes before Congress goes on its three-week Halloween break on Saturday. After the vote, the House will transmit the budget to the Senate.

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, appropriations committee chairman, said yesterday the errata or minor changes in the budget proposal submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) “were scrutinized and approved by the small committee (on amendments, which he also heads).”

He said the House, after passing the budget on second reading last month, created the select committee, named its members from the majority and minority, and authorized it to receive and approve amendments.

He said among the changes his panel adopted “were the disaggregation of GPBP projects, since it was pointed out during the committee and plenary (debates) that there were a number of GPBP projects still to be identified that were categorized as various projects.”

GPBP stands for grassroots participatory budgeting program, through which barangay communities throughout the country propose projects for funding in the national budget.

Ungab said the select committee also approved and adopted certain realignments in department or agency budgets “as an offshoot of questions raised during the appropriations committee hearings and plenary deliberations.”

“Some changes were in answer to the frequent breakdown of MRT-3 (the rail line along EDSA), and to the problems in our ports, airports and wharves brought out by members of the House,” he said.

He said funding was also provided for recall elections, absentee voting and continuing registration.

He pointed out that the creation of a select committee to receive and approve amendments after budget is approved on second reading “has been the procedure even in previous Congresses.”