DBM Posed to Submit ₱5.27 Trillion Budget to Congress

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is scheduled to submit the 2023 national budget proposal worth ₱5.268 trillion to Congress on August 22.

The DMB Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman has stated that the schedules for the proposed national budget for 2023 were one of the topics of discussion during a meeting with the economic team of the Marcos administration and other members of the Lower House which was led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

“It was just a quick breakfast meeting. We discussed the budget timelines and committed that from our end I will submit NEP [National Expenditure Program] 2023 on August 22,” mentions Sec Pangandaman.

The proposed 2023 national budget is higher by 4.9% compared to the 2022 budget of ₱5.024 trillion. Despite the increase, it is still the lowest increase in over a decade.

The top budget priorities of the new administration include agriculture, infrastructure, social safety nets, health, and education.

Aside from the budget, Sec Pangandaman mentions that the National Economic and Development Authority will soon convene the Legislative-Executive Development Authority Council (Ledac).

The Ledac will function as an advisory and consultative body to the President as the head of the national economy and planning agency for more consultations and guidance on programs and policies related to the national economy.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) called on Congress to pass 19 priority measures to aid his next six years in administration.

Priority bills of President Marcos Jr. comprise National Government Rightsizing Program; Budget Modernization Bill; Valuation Reform Bill; Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act; Internet Transaction Act or E-Commerce law; Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery; enactment of an enabling law for the natural gas industry; amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA; and, the Amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law, and others.

Source: Business Mirror