The Plenary Hall of the House of Representatives. (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — After more than two weeks of deliberations at the committee level, the House panel on appropriations approved Friday the proposed P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021.
Appropriations panel chair Rep. Eric Yap said members of his committee passed House Bill No. 7727, which proposes the 2021 national budget, during an executive meeting.
“As we have said many times, this year’s budget proceedings is both historic and challenging not only because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but also because of other circumstances that this august chamber is in,” Yap said in a statement late Friday night.
“We may have encountered a few bumps in the road during the past couple of weeks but it surely helped us recalibrate our focus and take one step closer towards our goal,” he added.
Yap also appealed for the cooperation, unity, and professionalism of his colleagues in the lower chamber as the proposed budget now goes to the plenary floor for further debates. It’s on the plenary floor where realignments on the budget are expected to happen, if any.
“This is the people’s budget and it is our obligation to make sure that the National Budget will not only be passed on time, but ultimately, it will respond to the growing needs of our countrymen,” Yap told his colleagues.
“More work needs to be done and it is my hope that the entire budget process will not be delayed by whatever issue that the Congress may face in the coming days,” he added.
Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado earlier said that the proposed P4.506 trillion budget for 2021 is 9.9 percent higher than the 2020 budget.
The proposed budget, Avisado said, focuses on government spending on improving the country’s healthcare systems, ensuring food security, creating more jobs by investing on labor-intensive projects, enabling a digital government and economy, and helping communities cope.
For the healthcare sector, Avisado said that budgetary support will be provided for the National Health Insurance Program, medical assistance to indigent patients, human resources for health program, and health facilities enhancement program, among others.
“The 2021 NEP will also set aside funds for the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine and the provision of PPE to DOH hospitals, laboratories and centers,” Avisado said.
The budget secretary further said that the national gov’t will also continue to advance the Build, Build, Build program to boost infrastructure development and promote employment.
“To help communities cope and prevail in these trying times, the fiscal year 2021 NEP will also prioritize gov’t programs that will help improve the productivity of agri and fishery sector, accelerate the recovery of MSMEs, and develop e-competitiveness of local industries,” Avisado said.
“Every peso of the P4.506-T FY 2021 NEP is geared towards saving lives and protecting communities while making various sectors of the economy stronger and more agile,” he added.