Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The proposed P2.6-trillion national budget for 2015 will be spent for the marginal sectors of the poorest provinces, budget secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said on Wednesday.
Abad made the statement as he presented the proposed budget to lawmakers and the country’s policy makers in the banking, finance and revenue institutions during the Development Budget Coordinating Committee hearing.
Abad said the budget department has identified the poorest provinces where the budget will be directed.
The budget will allow the poor and middle class sectors to participate in the growth, he added.
Abad acknowledged that even though the country’s economy is growing, the poverty incidence is unchanged.
“The economy is growing but the poverty situation remains the same,” Abad said.
“The budget before is thinly spread in the poorest areas. This results in gaps on wealth and population density,” Abad said.
This is the breakdown of the P2.606 trillion budget:
Social services – P967.9 billion up from P841.8 billion in 2014
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 topped the government agencies with the lion 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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