The House of Representatives opens its third and final regular session ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Gabriel Pabico Lalu/INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — While the country is facing economic challenges, two senior officials of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations believe the government is in the right direction as the proposed 2025 national budget seeks to address poverty.
In separate speeches at the start of the plenary debates on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), committee chairperson Elizaldy Co and senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo acknowledged that reducing poverty is a continuing battle.
“Amidst these expected economic growth and significant budgetary allocations to priority areas, reducing poverty remains a continuing and complex battle. Ganunpaman, tama ang direksyon nation (But we are in the right direction). The 2023 official poverty indicates that our efforts are yielding results. Poverty incidence dropped to 15.5 percent from 18.1 percent in 2021,” Co said.
“This is equivalent to lifting 2.45 million Filipinos out of poverty. Similarly, the number of food-poor individuals fell to 4.484 million from 6.5 million during the same period. While these gains are encouraging, the goal of reducing poverty to a single digit 9 percent by 2028 remains a formidable challenge. Achieving this requires sustained investments in education, healthcare, job creation, and social protection,” he added.
Quimbo, meanwhile, said the country needs to sustain economic growth, and it makes the budget crafting process more significant.
“Yes, our economy is growing today. Our GDP expanded by 6.3 percent in the first half of the year, putting us on track to meet our growth target of 6 percent to 7 percent. This reflects sound fiscal management and responsible governance. The numbers show that we are on the right path. Through our collective efforts, we have brought inflation down to 3.3 percent as of August 2024,” she said.
“However, the work is far from over. Year-to-date, the inflation rate stands at 3.6 percent, which is 32 percent lower than the 5.3 percent year-to-date inflation rate from last year. On employment, the numbers tell a hopeful story. The unemployment rate has dropped to 4.7 percent in July from 4.9 percent last year. In 2024, wage and salaried workers increased by 907,000,” she added.
Plenary deliberations on the 2025 proposed budget started on Monday, with the House discussing the allocations for the Department of Budget and Management, the Judiciary, the Department of Justice, and general principles and provisions of the GAB.
According to the House’s schedule, debates will go on until September 25, or before the chamber adjourns its session.
Discussions on the proposed budget gained controversy after the House decided to cut the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed budget for 2025 from P2 billion to P733 million, after Vice President Sara Duterte refused to answer lawmakers’ questions, and eventually skipped the second hearing.
READ: OVP budget cut from P2 billion to P733 million by House panel
READ: VP Sara skips House hearing on 2025 OVP budget, sends letter instead
In his speech at the start of the plenary debates, Speaker Martin Romualdez said public officials who committed irregularities while on duty should not blame others for their mistakes.
He also said the House would not tolerate hypocrisy and those who “ignore their own misuse of public funds.”
READ: Speaker on alleged budget misuse: ‘Those with sins can’t point fingers’
“As legislators, we are not only guardians of the national purse but also stewards of the people’s trust,” he told lawmakers.
“Every peso we allocate in this budget carries with it the sweat and sacrifice of millions of Filipinos, and it is our duty to ensure that these resources are spent wisely, effectively, and with absolute accountability,” he added.