House adjourns for regular break, will resume session end of October

Philippine Congress. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives adjourned its session for its regular break before midnight on Friday, as the lower Congress approved on second reading the proposed P2.606-trillion budget for 2015.

The chamber will have its break from September 27 to October 19. It will resume session on October 20, 4 p.m.

In his speech, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. commended members of the House for reconciling their differences in approving the budget bill under House Bill 4968.

“I would like to reiterate that we in this Congress are resolved to have hardworking and strong oversight to look over how the money is spent,” Belmonte said.

“We have shown today that we are public servants first and last,” he added.

The chamber formed a small committee to review all individual solons’ amendments to the budget bill until October 1.

The chamber targets to pass the bill on final reading by October 27 or 28.

The budget process starts in the House of Representatives, which scrutinizes the proposed budget submitted by the Department of Budget and Management.

After the lower Congress approves the budget bill, it transmits it to the Senate for its own deliberations.

After both chambers finish its versions of the bill, the House of Representatives and Senate will meet as a bicameral conference committee to thresh out the differences between the two versions of the budget bill.

After the bicameral approval, the budget bill will then be approved in both Houses of Congress.

The proposed 2015 budget is 15.1 percent higher than the approved 2014 budget worth P2.265 trillion.

According to sectors, social services will receive the lion’s share at P967.852 billion or 37.14 percent of the total budget, followed by economic services at P700.198 billion or 26.87 percent share, general public services at P423.057 billion or 16.23 percent share, debt burden at P399.363 billion or 15.33 percent share, and defense at P115.530 billion or 4.43 percent share.

Meanwhile, by agencies, the Department of Education will receive the highest budget at P365 billion, followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways at P300.5 billion, Department of National Defense at P144 billion, Department of the Interior and Local Government at P141.1 billion, Department of Social Welfare and Development at P109 billion, Department of Health at P102.2 billion, Department of Agriculture at P88.8 billion, Department of Transportation and Communications at P59.5 billion, Department of Environment and Natural Resources at P21.3 billion, and the judiciary at P20.3 billion.

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