House to look into 2013 budget starting August

Majority Leader Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–When the House of Representatives starts work on its third regular session, majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said that lawmakers will have their hands full ironing out the 2013 budget.
The entire August would be used by the House committee on appropriations to thoroughly inspect the government’s proposed P2.006 trillion budget for the next year, he said.

While the said committee used to task sub-committees to hear presentations of government agencies, Gonzales said that for two successive years it has been the mother committee which heard the entire budget.

By September, the lawmaker said that the proposed budget would undergo plenary deliberation. It is expected to be approved by the House sometime in October and sent over to the Senate.

Deliberations in the Senate, he said, could take until December.