House eyes to finish debates on proposed 2021 budget by end of September

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will try to finish deliberations on the proposed P4.506 trillion national budget for 2021 by the end of September, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said on Tuesday.

Cayetano made the remark after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted to the House the proposed budget for 2021, which is 9.9 percent higher than the 2020 budget.

“We will try to finish the budget before the end of September, a very ambitious schedule, to send it right away to the Senate,” Cayetano said.

“Because we hope for the first time in history, we can sign the budget maybe late November or mid-November as a sign of unity by our country,” the House Speaker added.

Cayetano assured that the lower chamber would be transparent in its deliberations, even saying that members of the opposition would be given more time in the budget hearings.

“We will not put anything here that will be so easy na magkaron ng graft and corruption,” Cayetano said.

(We will not put anything here that is prone to graft and corruption.)

“Pero ‘di rin kami ipokrito, ‘di rin kami naive na sabihin na walang opportunity for corruption. Diyan pumapasok ang transparency, accountability at pagbabantay,” he added.

(But we are not hypocrites, we are not naive to say that there is no opportunity for corruption. That is where transparency, accountability, and monitoring come in.)

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the proposed 2021 budget focuses on government spending on improving the country’s healthcare systems, ensuring food security, creating more jobs by investing in labor-intensive projects, enabling a digital government and economy, and helping communities cope.

For the healthcare sector, Avisado said that budgetary support would be provided for the National Health Insurance Program, medical assistance to indigent patients, human resources for health programs, and health facilities enhancement program, among others.

Meanwhile, Avisado said that the Department of Education (DepEd) remains as the top agency with the biggest allocation “to ensure educational continuity amid the health crisis.”

The budget secretary further said that the national gov’t would also continue to advance the Build, Build, Build program to boost infrastructure development and promote employment. [ac]