House begins plenary debates on proposed P4.5T nat’l budget for 2021

MANILA, Philippines — After more than two weeks of deliberations on the committee level, the House of Representatives began tackling the proposed P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021 on the plenary floor Monday.

This comes after the House committee on appropriations approved House Bill No. 7727, which proposes the 2021 National Expenditure Program, during an executive meeting on Friday.

READ: House panel OKs proposed national for 2021

According to the schedule provided by the House’s media office, Monday’s floor deliberations will begin with appropriations chair Rep. Eric Yap, who will sponsor House Bill No. 7727, and followed by debates on the general principles and provisions of the measure to be sponsored by Rep. Joey Salceda.

Rep. Horacio Suansing will then sponsor the proposed budget of the Department of Finance, including its attached agencies and corporations, while Rep. Junie Cua will defend the budget of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and its attached agencies and corporations.

Monday’s debates are expected to end with deliberations on the budget of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council to be sponsored by Rep. Michael John Duavit.

Based on the House’s calendar, the sponsorship and floor deliberations on the proposed 2021 budget will take place until October 7.

Following the appropriations committee’s approval of the measure, Yap 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 is on the plenary floor where realignments on the budget are expected to happen if there would be 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 in 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 programs, and health facilities enhancement programs, 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 (National Expenditure Program) 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.

The budget deliberations on the committee level in the House showed some disagreements among some lawmakers.

For instance,  during the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget briefing, Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. questioned the distribution of funds between congressional districts, particularly those of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte in Taguig City and Camarines Sur, respectively.

The recent arguments over the proposed 2021 national budget have led many to question if this is related to the term-sharing agreement between Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.

KGA