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CASA President Lord Allan Velasco signed the final copy of the P4.506 trillion national budget for 2021 on Thursday before sending it to Malacañang for President Duterte’s signature.
According to Velasco, the 2021 spending plan is the government’s “most powerful tool” to fight Covid-19 and help Filipinos and the economy recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic.
He said the Philippines will be in a better position to beat Covid-19 and recover from its devastating impacts next year after the House of Representatives ratified the proposed P4.506 trillion national budget for 2021.
“This budget reflects the serious commitment of the Duterte government to defeat Covid-19 and get the economy back on track,” Velasco said.
Velasco said that the 2021 budget bill includes an allocation of P70 billion for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, including storage, transportation and distribution.
According to the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Eric Go Yap, Congress approved several changes introduced by the House.
These include additional funds of P44.8 billion for the “Build, Build, Build” program of the Department of Public Works and Highways; and P2 billion for the acquisition of personal protective equipment or PPE, P434.4 million for the Program for the Improvement of Health Facilities; P462 million for the Health Medical Assistance Program; and P100 million for the mental health program, all under the Department of Health.
Yap said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also received a budget increase of P3.177 billion, mainly for the Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers Program of the Office of Secretary Tulong Panghanapbuhay, or Tupad.
Congress also increased the budget for the Emergency Livelihoods and Employment Program and the Government Internship Program (GIP) by P5.09 billion, bringing their total to P19 billion.
The amount will be used to implement Tupad for workers affected by Covid-19 and for the stipend equivalent to the minimum wage in force in the regions of GIP beneficiaries, who are 18 years of age or older.
Congress also allocated P1.6 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its alternative family care program, designed to provide protective services to individuals, families, and communities in difficult circumstances.
With the theme “Restart, rebound and recover: Investing for resilience and sustainability”, the 2021 spending plan is higher than this year’s budget by 9.9 percent and equivalent to 21.8 percent of GDP.
The top 10 agencies with the largest budget allocation are: Education sector with P708 billion; Department of Public Works and Highways with P694.8 billion; the Department of the Interior and Local Government with P247 billion; the Department of National Defense with P205 billion; the Department of Social Welfare and Development with P176.6 billion; the Department of Health with P134 billion; the Department of Transportation with P87.4 billion; the Department of Agriculture with P68.6 billion, the Judiciary with P44.1 billion; and the Department of Labor and Employment with P36.6 billion.
