Cayetano assures ‘transparency’ as 2021 budget hearings begin on Sept. 4

MANILA, Philippines — As the lower chamber gears up for budget deliberations, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has assured hearings on the 2021 national budget will be “very transparent.”

Budget deliberation in the House of Representatives is set to begin on September 4 after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted to Congress the proposed P4.506-trillion national budget for 2021.

“We will be very transparent. All the members of the opposition in the House, we will give you first a copy of the budget and listen to you first and give you more time so this budget will be a product of the whole of Congress, the whole of the representations of the Filipino people, not only of the administration,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano said the hearing on September 4 will focus on the state of the economy and on the macro-economic assumptions the administration used in putting together the budget proposal.

Invited to the hearing at the plenary hall are members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), namely Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno.

Cayetano earlier said the lower chamber is eyeing to finish budget deliberations by the end of September.

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

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

Cayetano said following the DBCC, the proposed budget of the following agencies will also be deliberated:

September 7

Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)
Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corporation (PAGCOR)

September 8

Department of National Defense (DND)
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

September 9

Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)

September 10

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
Department of Tourism (DOT)
Department of Agriculture (DA)

September 11

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)

September 14

Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD)
Department of Health (DOH)

September 15

Office of the President (OP)
Office of the Vice President (OVP)
Department of Transportation (DOTr)
Department of Education (DepEd)

Cayetano said aside from COVID-19 response funds, the national budget should continue funding important infrastructure the nation needs during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic period.

“There are important infrastructure we have to keep on building. Number one is mass transportation. Second is digital infrastructure — all of us want better internet, better connection. Third is health-related infrastructure — hospitals, health centers. (Then) infrastructure for tourism, also for agriculture,” Cayetano said.

JE