Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives began deliberations on the proposed P2.6 trillion national budget for 2015.
Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad led President Benigno Aquino III’s finance team in presenting the proposal. With him were Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares, National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amado Tetangco Jr.
The committee aims to assess the overall economic targets, expenditure levels, revenue projection and the financing plan in relation to the national budget.
The breakdown of the P2.606 trillion budget is divided into services and government agencies:
Topping the list for the highest budget request for services are:
Social services – P967.9 billion up from P841.8 billion
Economic services – P700.2 billion, up from P593.1 billion
General public services – P423.1 billion up from P362.6 billion
Debt burden – P399.4 billion up from P377.6 billion
Defense – P115.5 billion up from P89.5 billion
Social services got 37.1 percent of the pie, followed by economic services with 26.9 percent, general public services with 16.2 percent, debt burden with 15.3 percent, and defense with 4.4 percent.
The Department of Education got the lion’s share of the budget with P365.958 billion.
It is followed by:
Department of Public Works and Highways – P300.519 billion
National Defense – P144.036 billion
Interior and Local Government – P141.423 billion
Social Welfare and Development – P108.97 billion
Health – P102.178 billion
Agriculture -P88.818 billion
Transportation and Communication – P59.463 billion
Environment and Natural Resources – P21.290 billion
Judiciary – P20.285 billion
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