House eyeing to pass P4.5 trillion budget in November

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will be devoting the whole month of September to scrutinizing the P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021, with the hope of having the General Appropriations Act finished and signed by November.

“It is a very ambitious schedule. We will send it right away to the Senate. We hope for the first time, if I’m not mistaken, in history, we can sign the budget maybe late November or mid-November as a sign of unity by our country,” Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said yesterday.

“We will show the people that we can be pro-active and lay certain foundations for the next administration and for the post-COVID-19 world,” the administration stalwart said.

He called the proposed budget the “bigger Bayanihan and bigger sign of unity” in the effort of the Duterte administration to address the pandemic.

“For the past decades, our government has not invested in digital infrastructure and learning management systems both for elementary, secondary and tertiary institutions. This pandemic has become a wake-up call for all of us,” Cayetano said.

House Deputy Minority Leader Stella Quimbo of Marikina said the budget “should be able to connect the pre-COVID and post-COVID worlds.”

“The General Appropriations Act of 2021 should serve as a bridge where people will live and their livelihoods are assured,” she said.

“We in the minority will need and will use a bigger than usual magnifying lens to scrutinize the GAA 2021. Every peso should count towards saving lives, saving jobs, while minimizing leakages due to corruption. That is the task ahead and the challenge before us,” she said.

She also said that with next year’s budget, there will be “sufficient funds for connectivity, not only for roads, but more importantly for internet connectivity especially for public schools.”

“Prior to COVID-19, only 25 percent of all public schools have internet access,” she revealed.

“The GAA 2021 should also be the bridge that connects the past and the future. Now is the time to discard old and inefficient ways and use this opportunity for a better normal,” Quimbo added. – Edu Punay