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The House of Representatives on Monday introduced a total of P20 billion in “institutional amendments” to the P4.5 trillion General Appropriations Bill to increase funding for the Covid-19 vaccine, displaced workers and internet connection to public schools.
House Appropriations Committee Senior Vice Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda at a press conference said the committee’s small meeting, charged with threshing all the proposed national budget amendments, finished deliberating on all the amendments in a hearing on Monday, October 19.
With this, Salceda said that the probability of a new enactment of the budget is now “zero.”
“The House version of the 2021 budget is now ready to be presented to the Senate as the small group had the consensus…. We only consider institutional amendments and departmental errors. All individual modifications [will be tackled] during the meeting of the bicameral conference committee with the Senate ”, added Salceda.
“[These institutional amendments will] empower the government to face the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic and restore the Philippines as a national state to its growth trajectory, maintain macroeconomic stability and make progress in growth sustainable, “he added.
According to Salceda, the P20 billion will be taken from unscheduled funds from the Department of Transportation.
Of the P20 billion, Salceda said that P5.5 billion will be allocated for the acquisition of the Covid-19 vaccine, P300 million to implement the mental health program and P2 billion for the Health Facilities Improvement Program.
Salceda said the institutional amendments also include P4 billion for the Tulong Panghanap Buhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers program of the Department of Labor and Employment and P2 billion for the Department of Social and Welfare and Development to help severely affected Filipino families. for the pandemic.
He said $ 1.7 billion will be added to the Department of Education budget to provide Internet connection for public schools.
In addition, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will get an additional P100 million and Philippine National Oil Co., P400 million, for renewable energy and energy sufficiency programs.
Salceda said that P2 billion will be added to the budget of the Philippine National Police Department for the Interior and Local Government and P2 billion for the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the acquisition of two C-130 aircraft.
‘Pork free’
Meanwhile, President Lord Allan Velasco on Monday secured a P4.5 trillion General Appropriations Bill “without pork.”
“Let me assure you that there is no pork in the budget,” Velasco said in a television interview.
Velasco added that the small committee has implemented institutional amendments as many departments and agencies were asking for higher budgets.
“After that, the budget will be sent and transmitted to the Senate and then, after that, there is also the bicam,” Velasco added.
In addition, Velasco confirmed that the House will transmit the 2021 budget to the Senate before October 28.
“We agreed on October 28, the Chamber’s best effort. But October 28 can turn into October 30. But I think [House Committee on Appropriations] President Eric Yap has already committed to transmitting the budget for October 28, “he added.
The Chamber approved in final reading on October 16 the draft national budget for 2021.
For his part, Ang Probinsyano representative Alfred delos Santos, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the House will speed up the budget process to give the Senate enough time to work on the budget bill.
“We are very happy that you have already finished the third reading and [at the small committee]. Our goal is always to speed up the process to help our fellow Filipinos. We know that these are not normal times and we want to immediately attend to the needs of our compatriots, ”said Delos Santos.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he said that the entire world has adjusted to the new normal and this resulted in many changes in priorities, including legislative policies.
Delos Santos said that the entire government cannot afford a renewed budget, especially with the drastic change that the pandemic brought.
“We want to make sure that all government agencies have sufficient resources so that they can function in the new normal,” Delos Santos said, saying that the 2021 budget is people-friendly and responsive to the country’s current needs.
“So I am very happy that the 2021 national budget responds very well to the needs of the Philippines. There have been a lot of deliberations with various government agencies for that, so we are happy that [needs] it will not be ignored, ”he said.
