The Senate ratified on Monday the proposed P3.002 trillion national budget for 2016.
Once ratified by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the budget proposal will be transmitted to President Benigno Aquino III for signature.
Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on finance, earlier expressed confidence that the President would be able to sign the proposed 2016 national budget before Christmas.
“We are confident that the President will be able to sign the proposed 2016 national budget into law before Christmas. In a way, this is our gift to the people as we have introduced allocations and provisions that will benefit those who most need government support,” Legarda said in a statement last week.
READ: Congress signs bicam report of proposed P3.002-T 2016 budget
She said among the highlights of the budget was the strong support for quality education with the increased allocation for the Department of Education (DepEd) to support the implementation of the K-12 program, particularly for the construction of classrooms and hiring of additional teachers. The total budget of Deped is Php411.905 Billion.
All state universities and colleges (SUCs) also received additional funding for the “TulongDunong” program, academic buildings, provision of equipment and other needed facilities. She said the total budget of SUCs is P47 Billion.
“For the first time, the national budget includes funding for the payment of the total administrative disability (TAD) pension for surviving spouses of deceased World War II veterans and partial payment for TAD pension for living post-war veterans who are at least 80 years of age as of 2016,” she said.