Senate eyes approval of 2023 budget next week

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate will try to approve next week the proposed P5.268-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2023 after senators ended plenary deliberations on the Marcos administration’s first spending program after midnight Friday with some proposed amendments.

After two weeks of marathon plenary deliberations, the chamber enters the period of amendments that lasts for a few days before the GAB is passed on second then third and final reading.

Sen. Sonny Angara, principal sponsor of the proposed national budget being chairman of Senate finance committee, said the chamber will try to achieve its target of passing the same by the middle of next week.

Certified as urgent by President Marcos, the three-day rule in passing bills will be dispensed with, meaning the GAB can be passed on second reading and then on third and final reading in one plenary session.

The proposed budgets tackled in plenary that convened for 12 hours before Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri banged the gavel at 1:45 a.m. to close the session were those of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Congress, the Departments of Science and Technology and of Health (DOH), the National Commission on Senior Citizens and the Commission on Higher Education.

When the GAB is passed in the Senate, the bicameral conference committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives would reconcile their respective versions of the budget bill to come up with a final version to be ratified and sent to Marcos’ desk for his signature.

Earlier, Zubiri said Congress aims to have the GAB enacted into law before Christmas.

Among the main issues tackled in the Senate were the allocation of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) to certain civilian agencies, including the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which the minority bloc in the chamber considered a misallocation of precious taxpayers’ funds.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III and Sen. Risa Hontiveros said they will make a last-ditch attempt to have the CIFs realigned during the period of amendments.

Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the Senate version of the GAB included social safety nets to support economic recovery amid continuing uncertainties brought about mainly by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We recognize the need to support marginalized sectors of our society, but this should be targeted, which means only those in dire need should receive aid from the government,” Gatchalian said.

“We have instituted social safety nets such as subsidies for fuel, subsidies for the poorest of the poor and other energy-related subsidies as we expect external factors such as the Russia-Ukraine issue and the COVID-19 pandemic to persist in 2023,” he said.

As long as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, crude oil prices are likely to be around $90 per barrel by next year and local pump prices may hover around P70-P90 per liter, which means there is a need to grant targeted subsidies, he said.

Financial subsidies provided by the government include the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for the poorest of the poor and subsidy for the transport sector called the Pantawid Pasada Program.

Other energy-related subsidies include the electrification programs of the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Electrification Administration (NEA), the fuel and off grid electrification for rural areas and the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF) to fund electric cooperatives in restoring distribution lines damaged by typhoons and other natural calamities.

Under the Senate’s proposed budget for next year, a total of P110.61 billion has been allocated for the 4Ps program while the Pantawid Pasada program carries a proposed budget of P5 billion. Meanwhile, for the energy-related subsidies, the DOE electrification has a budget of P500 million, P1.6 billion for NEA electrification and P200 million for ECERF.

Bigger DOH budget??senators are also moving to boost funding for the country’s health sector amid the lack of facilities and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

As Sen. Pia Cayetano defended the DOH’s allocation for 2023 during Thursday night’s plenary deliberations, many expressed their intention to increase the proposed P323-billion budget.?

Under the proposed DOH 2023 budget, P214.8 billion is allotted for the Office of the Secretary, P439.1 million for the National Nutrition Council, P43.53 million for the Philippine National Aids Council, P1.130 billion for the Lung Center of the Philippines, P1.771 billion for the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, P2.31 billion for the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, P2.266 billion for the Philippine Heart Center and P100.233 billion for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Sen. JV Ejercito, principal author of the Universal Healthcare Law, urged his colleagues to grant the DOH’s request for additional funding to fast-track the expansion of specialty health care centers throughout the country.

He said the chamber should consider adding around P2.2 billion to the proposed P3.1-billion budget for specialty health care centers.

Cayetano backed Ejercito’s proposal, saying the “structure, doctors and facilities are already there.”

At present, a total of 46 specialty health care centers across the country are operational in various degrees, according to the DOH.

Sen. Bong Go also called for higher budget for the DOH to ensure the continuous implementation of programs that would provide Filipinos access to primary care.

“I continue to push for additional budget for health. We really need to further strengthen our health care system. We must invest more in health,” said Go, who chairs the Senate committee on health and demography.