2023 budget of Governance Commission for GOCCs gets Senate panel OK

SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES / STOCK

MANILA, Philippines — The P245.7-million 2023 budget of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned-and-Controlled Corporations (GCG) has been approved by the Senate finance subcommittee.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who presided over the hearing on Friday as chairman of the finance subcommittee, said that the GCG’s budget is deemed submitted for plenary debates.

Of the P245.7-million 2023 GCG budget, P97.28 million is allocated for personnel services, while P148.42 million is for maintenance and other operating expenses.

“The personnel services for GCG only account for around 33 percent of our total personnel,” GCG Director Johann Carlos Barcena said.

He added that the personnel services allocation only accounts for their current manpower of 74 workers. They, however, are planning to fill the remaining 157 authorized positions of the commission.

The 2023 budget of the GCG is P50 million higher than its budget for the current year.

“That [increase] amount primarily accounts for the review of the compensation and position classification for the GOCC sector as well as the Salary Standardization VI Law for the national government,” Barcena said.

Meanwhile, the GCG has zero allocation for its capital outlay as the Department of Budget and Management did not grant its P20.5-million proposal.

Among the projects slashed in the GCG budget proposal are the lease of an additional office, enhancement of information and communication technology, and procurement of laptops, desktops, and two multi-purpose vehicles.

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/MUF