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The Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday ratified the committee’s report on the proposed $ 4.5 trillion national budget for 2021, which includes funding for health care and economic recovery.
The committee’s report was ratified after the bicameral conference committee on the General Appropriations Act of 2021 (GAA) passed the budget bill also on Wednesday.
The panel, headed by Senator Juan Edgardo Angara for the Senate and Representative Eric Yap for the House of Representatives, took just six minutes to meet and approve its reconciled version, after lengthy deliberations.
The Senate, ending extended interpellations on the bicameral report supporting the final reconciled version of the 2021 national budget, voted to adopt and ratify the commission’s report, paving the way for its submission to Malacañang for enactment by President Duterte. , avoiding the need for government to operate with the 2020 budget in January.
Spokesman Lord Allan Velasco said the budget bill will be sent to Malacañang next week for President Duterte’s signature.
“This budget reflects the serious commitment of the Duterte government to defeat Covid-19 and get the economy back on track,” Velasco said.
The swift approval ensures that the nation will not have to live on a renewed budget in early 2021, and increases the government’s response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the momentum needed for an economy hit by virus-induced lockdowns.
Administration Senator Christopher Go assured Wednesday that adequate funding had been set aside in the Senate version of the 2021 national budget bill, ensuring, Go said, the “smooth deployment of Covid-19 vaccines an once they are deemed safe and effective. “
Go, sitting as vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, hopes lawmakers will ratify the final reconciled version of the Senate-House 2021 budget bill before adjourning the session for a recess on December 18, avoiding the prospect of for the government to operate with a 2020 budget renewed for January. .
He expressed his confidence that “legislators are ready to ratify a new budget for 2021 through a General Appropriations Law that is sufficient and responds to the needs of the country and the Filipinos.”
As chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demographics, Go also pledged to ensure that “there will be sufficient funding for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines, as well as other priority health-related items, such as improvements to health facilities across the country. country”.
He recalled that the Budget Secretary, Wendel Avisado, had previously revealed the Duterte government’s willingness to “spend more than 73 billion pesetas to vaccinate half the population or 60 million Filipinos.”
When asked for more details, the senator said that the necessary funds will be included in the budget, even as he clarified that the government will also explore other procurement options from national and bilateral sources, multilateral organizations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. , and through help. from the private sector.
“As I am in the Senate, we will help President Duterte find sources of funding,” Go said, adding: “It could be government to government, it could be a World Bank or Asian Development Bank loan or a tripartite agreement with group companies. The important thing is that we can buy in a timely manner and help each Filipino get back on the road to normality. “
He recalled that the president also ordered the Department of Health to “negotiate a series of bilateral agreements with other countries to help ensure proper and smooth implementation of vaccines.”
Go reiterated President Duterte’s desire to prioritize and provide free access to the poor and vulnerable, as well as those on the front lines, such as medical workers, teachers, and uniformed personnel, once a vaccine is deemed safe and effective.
Go confirmed that he shares Duterte’s willingness to be vaccinated to increase public confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, reiterating his challenge to Secretary of Health Francisco T. Duque III and Secretary of Vaccine Czar Carlito G. Galvez Jr so that they are also injected. first to allay public fear of injections.
Economic relief
House Appropriations Committee Senior Vice Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said that “the ball will be in the president’s court early, so there is almost no risk that we will face a delayed budget approval this year. That alone can mean good for the economic recovery of 2021 ”.
With the approval of the national budget, Salceda, a member of the bicam, said that the country can now focus on economic relief and the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Advance approval of GAA 2021, along with expected adoption of CREATE by the House later [Wednesday], will be the solid foundations of our recovery in 2021. With these reforms made, we can focus on economic relief and the launch of the vaccine, “added Salceda.
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.
Meanwhile, the top 10 agencies with the largest allocation under the proposed budget for 2021 are: Education sector with P708 billion; Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P694.8 billion; the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with P247 billion; the Department of National Defense (DND) with P205 billion; the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) with P176.6 billion; the Department of Health (DOH) with P134 billion; the Department of Transportation (DOTr) with P87.4 billion; the Department of Agriculture with P68.6 billion; the Judicial Power with P44.1 billion; and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with P36.6 billion.
Infrastructure spending
Salceda said the budget reflected an increase of around P300 billion in infrastructure that he sought from economic administrators during the early days of the Covid-19 crisis.
“I had conversations with the economic managers. We reached four agreements. First was an increase in infrastructure spending of around P275 billion. That materialized. Second, the deployment of credit measures that will activate P551 billion in credit stimulus. Third, set 9 percent as a growth target for 2021. And fourth, have a third or even a fourth stimulus package, ”said Salceda.
“This was a conversation we had in April. In hindsight, that conversation was prescient. The government should have been more aggressive in promoting credit and building bridges between borrowers and lenders. We should still push for another round of economic relief. And we must not give up the growth goals for next year, “added Salceda.
In addition to P1.1 trillion for infrastructure, Salceda said the 2021 budget also includes P7.6 billion in additional expenses to adapt to life after Covid, including items on telecommunications improvements.
The budget also includes P203 billion for health care. The annual allocations also include P72.5 billion for Covid-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile, the two Houses plan to extend the implementation of the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, which provides P10 billion for Covid-19 vaccines.
Yap, who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the bicameral conference committee approved several changes introduced by the House.
These include additional funding of P44.8 billion for the “Build, Build, Build” program under DPWH; and P2 billion for the acquisition of personal protective equipment or PPE, P434.4 million for the Health Facilities Improvement Program, P462 million for the Health Medical Assistance Program and P100 million for the mental health program, all under DOH.
Yap said the DOLE also received a budget increase of P3.177 billion, the majority of which is for the Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers Program of the Office of Secretary Tulong Panghanapbuhay, or TUPAD.
He said bicam also increased the budget for the Emergency Livelihoods and Employment Program and the Government Internship Program by P5.09 billion, bringing their total to P19 billion.
Bicam also allocated P1.6 billion to DSWD for its alternative family care program, which is designed to provide protective services to individuals, families, and communities in difficult circumstances.
Deficit management
Salceda said the 2021 budget deficit is expected to be 8.5 percent of GDP, and said, however, it can still be reduced.
“The actual budget deficit ultimately depends on how quickly we spend, how quickly the economy recovers, and how well we collect revenue. We cannot stop spending during the recovery. It is vital that we spend quickly. But we can make the collection more efficient, ”he said.
“As chair of the House of Representatives tax committee, I will continue to exercise oversight of the Department of Finance and the revenue agencies. Our association has been very successful. It is likely that my term as president of Means and Arbitrios derives from having passed the most revenue-raising laws in the history of the Fifth Republic. Revenue agencies also posted record highs last year and are continually exceeding their revised revenue targets despite the pandemic, ”he added.
The legislator also assured that his committee has measures worth P651 billion in revenue-raising potential that could be enacted immediately but imposed after 2022.
“We may postpone the effectiveness of the new revenue measures until after the recovery, but I am confident that they will nevertheless be included in our credit ratings. So we should be fine, ”Salceda said.
“The catch is to think that once life returns to normal in 2021, we should go back to austerity. I do not agree. We will expand the fiscal space, but we will continue spending on public goods for the people, ”added Salceda.
With Butch Fernandez
