MANILA, Philippines — The final version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or the proposed 2024 national budget may be up for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signature by the first or second week of December 2023, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said on Saturday.
Zubiri, in an ambush interview after the special joint session of Congress, said that the Senate commits to passing the bill containing the P5.768 trillion budget on time.
“Our commitment, to answer your question, we will pass it on time. We will finish it by the first week of December; I would believe it would be ready for the President’s signature, [the] latest [by] second week of December,” he told reporters after Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s address to Congress.
Zubiri said this after he and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez were asked if the Senate would follow the House’s decision to remove the confidential funds (CFs) of certain agencies.
Romualdez said that it is up to the Senate, and Zubiri acknowledged this by saying that the ball is in their hands.
“The ball is in our hands, ‘ika nga sa basketball, nando’n na po sa amin (as in basketball, the ball is on our court),” Zubiri said.
“Unfortunately, hindi na po namin nakasama ‘yong aming chairman ng committee on appropriations today so we’ll act on his behalf, si Senator Angara, he’s still back from an overseas mission, but kami po ni Senator Joel Villanueva our Majority Floor Leader, at iba pong mga senador — nandito po si Senator JV Ejercito, and some other senators ay handa po tumanggap po ng final version of the House of Representatives’ 2024 national budget,” he added.
(Unfortunately, we cannot bring with us the chairman of our committee on appropriations today so we’ll act on his behalf — Senator Angara, he’s still back from an overseas mission — but we, along with Senator Joel Villanueva our Majority Floor Leader, other senators like Senator JV Ejercito, and some other senators are ready to receive the final version of the House of Representatives’ 2024 national budget,” he added.
At the plenary session convened on Saturday before the joint session, Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe moved to transmit House Bill (HB) No. 8980 to the Senate.
HB No. 8980 contains the GAB, which the House passed on the third and final reading last September 27.
“Mr. Speaker, I move to immediately transmit to the Senate, House Bill No. 8980 as well as the resolutions that we have adopted,” Dalipe said.
The motion was approved by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., who presided over Saturday’s session.
To recall, before HB No. 8980 was approved, there were calls from party leaders in the House to strip some offices of their CFs and to realign these to agencies involved in securing the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
After the budget bill’s approval, the small committee tasked by the House reported that they had realigned P194 billion worth of line items — including the P1.23 billion CF.
At least five agencies got zero funding for their CF requests for 2024:
- Office of the Vice President: P500 million
- Department of Information and Communications Technology: P300 million
- Department of Education: P150 million
- Department of Agriculture: P50 million
- Department of Foreign Affairs: P50 million
READ: How House removed, reduced the confidential funds of gov’t agencies
During a ceremonial turnover of the GAB at the Speaker’s office, Romualdez stressed the need for a budget that would be the response to the most urgent needs of the country.
“In these challenging times, where global inflation and surging prices of essential goods test our resilience, the 2024 budget stands as our response to the urgent needs of ordinary Filipinos,” Romualdez said.
“We have incorporated significant institutional and individual amendments to offer both immediate respite and enduring solutions to these challenges. The escalating costs of living weigh heavily on our fellow Filipinos, and we, in the House, recognize our mandate to address these concerns swiftly and effectively,” he added.