FILE PHOTO: Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman speaks during the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum held at Café Adriatico in Malate, Manila, on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. – Pangandaman is encouraging the public to participate in the government’s preparation process for the 2024 national budget proposal to ensure a “responsive allocation” and contribute to the achievement of the country’s development goals. INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo
MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) encourages the public to get involved in the government’s planning for the 2024 national budget proposal.
By taking part, citizens can guarantee that funds are allocated with the utmost consideration and aid in realizing the country’s aspirations.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman issued the call on Tuesday, saying the agency wants the budget built around the government’s 8-point socioeconomic agenda and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
“We are preparing our 2024 budget now. We ask the national government agencies, our GOCCs… even the LGUs (local government units) to take part in our consultations,” she said in a press release.
“We want the people to participate so that we ensure our budget is something that is responsive in adherence to our 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and our PDP.. to reach our goal of single-digit poverty level, decrease our deficit, and achieve the high-middle income status of the country,” she added.
READ: DBM: 2023 national budget a ‘starting point’ for gov’t 8-point socioeconomic goals
The DBM said it has started its series of budget consultations with national government agencies, and government-owned or controlled corporations, as part of the preparations for drafting the government’s spending plan for 2024.
In an earlier statement, Pangandaman said the 2024 national budget would only cover implementation-ready programs “given the competing demands of government programs against a backdrop of limited resources.”
“We will also look into the agencies’ previous [year’s] budget utilization and performance as part of its evaluation process,” she said.
2023 national spending direction
The DBM secretary said that the 2023 budget, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed in December 2022, was designed to achieve the economic goals set in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF)
“The P5.268 trillion budget that the President signed is consistent with that 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda,” Pangandaman said.
She added that by steering the economy back on its high-growth path in the near term and maintaining high, inclusive, and resilient growth through 2028, this year’s national budget supports the administration’s objectives of reviving job creation and reducing poverty.
The budget also lays the foundation for the top priorities of the Marcos administration which include reducing the deficit to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2028, attaining a debt-to-GDP ratio of less than 60% by 2025, and lowering the poverty rate to 9% or lower by 2028. – Meralyn Melitante, trainee
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