House scrutinizing budget proposals of 34 agencies

MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen of 34 government agencies have undergone scrutiny by the House committee on appropriations for their proposed budgets for 2023.

“Every member of Congress is working double time, attending and participating in the budget hearings. Committee vice chair Stella Luz Quimbo is helping me move the hearings forward,” Rep. Zaldy Co, committee chairman, said.

The committee expects to finish the budget hearings by Sept. 15 and start plenary debates on Sept. 21.

“With two more weeks of budget briefings, the appropriations committee is on track with our target date to pass the General Appropriations Bill by Oct. 1,” Quimbo said.

The committee yesterday terminated the deliberations for the proposed budget of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

“With the proposed budget of P28.2 billion for 2023, we look forward to all DOJ plans and programs to ensure that justice is served efficiently and appropriately,” Co said.

He commended Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla for creating the Prosecution Integrity Board through Department Circular 027.

The board will look into misconducts of government prosecutors and recommend sanctions against them if necessary.

Ayuda to continue

Owing to the country’s recovering economy, the government will no longer extend any financial assistance due to the pandemic, but cash dole-outs will still be given in line with the policies of the 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

“Social welfare programs promote investment in human capital, like the case of 4Ps, which is the ultimate solution to poverty. We have to continue with our 4Ps,” Quimbo said during a hearing on the budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“We also have to institutionalize the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), provide more funding to our social pension, strengthen the Sustainable Livelihood Program and many others,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo, an economist, clarified that Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno made a statement that government dole-outs have reached their end, but only in relation to the pandemic.

“Even without the pandemic, DSWD provides social protection or ayuda. The agency is mandated to provide social protection and poverty-reduction solutions for the poor, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged,” she said.

While the proposed budget for 2023 is pegged on lower inflation rate, there are provisions for adjustments depending on the prevailing economic situation, Quimbo said Tuesday night.

She said the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) of the government contains “macro economic assumptions.”

She said the assumptions for 2023 are pegged on the foreign exchange rate of around P51 to P55 per $1, which is lower than the P57 exchange rate yesterday.

In an interview with “The Chiefs,”
Quimbo said the NEP contains the so-called “sensitivity of the budget to macro economic parameters.”

Asked about the rise in interest rate, Quimbo said this was done by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to protect Philippine currency following the rise in inflation rates in the United States.

“It is in defense of our own currency and at the same time, to manage the inflation expectation … We have good economic managers and the BSP has enough tools, particularly for policy rates,” she said. – Sheila Crisostomo