Angara welcomes enactment of 2023 General Appropriations Act

FILE PHOTO: Senator Sonny Angara.(Voltaire Domingo/ Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sonny Angara has expressed his appreciation for enacting the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA). President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the measure on Friday at a Malacañan Palace ceremony.

“While there were disagreements on some issues during the bicameral conference committee meetings, both panels found common ground in the need to ensure that assistance is given to those who require it the most and to keep the momentum going in the country’s move towards economic recovery,” Angara, chair of the Senate committee on finance, said in a statement.

Some of these disagreements, he said, were on the allocations of confidential intelligence funds for the Department of Education and Office of the Vice President – both currently helmed by Sara Duterte.

READ: Marcos Jr. signs P5.268 trillion nat’l budget for 2023

At the Senate, the proposed P150 million CIF of DepEd was slashed to just P30 million. But the original amount was reinstated during the bicameral conference committee discussions.

In past administrations, lawmakers had noted DepEd and OVP did not have CIFs.

The P10 billion allocation for National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in 2023 was also a contention among legislators. It was restored during deliberations of the bicameral conference committee even if lawmakers questioned the low accomplishment rate of the government’s anti-insurgency task force.

Angara nevertheless highlighted the 2023 GAA’s allocations that would sustain government initiatives such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, medical programs, free public transport, scholarships, and more.

READ: Bicam approves consolidated version of proposed 2023 budget

“Inaasahan din natin na matutugunan ng pamahalaan ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin, partikular na ang gulay, manok at baboy. Malaking bahagi ng 2023 GAA, mahigit P170 billion, ay nakatugon sa sektor ng agrikultura kung saan ang ating Pangulo mismo ang personal na nakatutok,” he said.

(We also expect that the government can address the continuous rise of prices of goods, particularly vegetables, chicken, and pork. A big part of the 2023 GAA, more than P170 billion, will go to the agricultural sector, with the president overseeing it).

READ: Education gets P852-B in proposed 2023 budget; allocation for agri rises by 39.2%

Marcos Jr. appointed himself as secretary of the Department of Agriculture concurrently.

Angara said that when they were deliberating the 2023 GAA, they considered the importance of investing in physical capital to empower people, generate revenues, and address the needs of the people.

“We are no longer at a point where we are catching up and reacting to the developments just like the past two years. Now we can lay the foundation for the country to build on towards sustaining economic growth and providing more opportunities for our people,” he said.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said that the bicameral conference committee realigned around P70 billion in the 2023 national budget.

The 2023 GAA is the first full budget of Marcos Jr.’s administration. He assumed the presidency last June 30.

KGA/abc