Duterte won’t submit 2021 budget during SONA – DBM

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte is not expected to submit to Congress the proposed national budget for 2021 tomorrow, when he delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) as Congress resumes session, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said over the weekend.

In a text message to The STAR, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the executive branch is not yet ready to submit the proposed 2021 budget as the DBM is still finalizing the proposal.

“Not yet. We’re still in the process of finalizing it as the DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee) still has to approve the final budget ceiling,” Avisado said.

The budget chief said the agency is targeting to submit the 2021 budget proposal “on or before Aug. 27.”

This is within the 30-day deadline given to the DBM from the day of the SONA to transmit to Congress the proposed budget, as provided for in the Constitution.

Earlier, DBM assistant secretary Rolando Toledo said the budget ceiling for 2021 has been raised to P4.506 trillion from the previous proposal of P4.335 trillion to provide the government more funds to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed budget ceiling is 9.9 percent higher than this year’s budget of P4.1 trillion.

Budget Undersecretary Laura Pascua said the adjustment was made after the DBM went through the proposals of all agencies.

In its budget priorities framework uploaded on its website earlier, the DBM said the 2021 budget would need to be reviewed and reprioritized in the light of the “new normal” environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The DBM said the government’s expenditure program for 2021 should focus on the improvement of health systems to strengthen the country’s capacity to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including the purchase of vaccines.

The agency also listed food security, digitization of the government and the economy and the promotion of the Balik Probinsya program among the priority expenditures of the government next year.

Avisado had also said that the government was planning to allot a portion of the 2021 budget for the programs of the Department of Education (DepEd) on distance learning.

He said the government will fund the creation of distance learning systems and e-learning platforms, as well as the capacity-building programs for teachers and other personnel. – Christina Mendez