Palace optimistic Senate will pass 2016 budget before year ends

Malacañang on Sunday said it is hopeful that the Senate will pass the P3-trillion national budget for 2016 before the year ends.

“This is the last year of submission of the budget under the Aquino administration. We have, so far, had five successful enactments of the budget, walang reenacted,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

“We hope that the budget will be passed on time before the yearend so that we can immediately implement the budget for the next year. So we will just wait for the plenary hearings on the budget,” he added.

Lacierda also emphasized that majority of next year’s budget will be allocated to social services that will benefit poor Filipinos.

“We have always emphasized the social services, so malaking bagay po sa atin ‘yan. The budget is really meant to service the needs of our countrymen—the basic services, like education, health—and so we have, for instance, invested again in our conditional cash transfer program, in our health coverage. We have the basic social services that our countrymen really need,” he said.

The presidential spokesperson also criticized the Makabayan bloc for calling to abolish the government’s conditional cash transfer program, saying that it was ironic for a pro-poor group to initiate such action.

“In fact, they should be encouraging this because the CCT (conditional cash transfer) program—ma-i-remind lang natin ang ating mga kapatid sa Makabayan bloc—hindi po ito doleout. Ang mahalaga po rito tinutulungan po natin ang ating mga kababayan made under several conditions,” he said.

The House of Representatives passed the 2016 budget early October.