DBM wants 2019 budget passed by Nov.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) expects Congress to pass the government’s proposed national budget for next year by November ahead of the campaign season for the local elections.

On the sidelines of a forum yesterday, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that bulk of the Duterte administration’s proposed R3.757-trillion “cash-based” budget for 2019 will be earmarked for social and economic services.

The biggest share of the pie, equivalent to 36.7 percent goes to social services, such as education, culture and manpower development, social security, welfare and employment, health, among others.

The budget for social services as a proportion of the entire 2019 budget is lower compared with this year’s 37.8 percent.

At least 28.4 percent, meanwhile, is allocated to economic services, such as infrastructure spending on power, water, transportation and communications, as well as agriculture and agrarian reform. The figure, however, is below compared with this year’s 30.6 percent.

Funding earmarked for general public services such as general administration, public order and safety, among others cornered 18.9 percent, up from R17.4 percent in 2018.

Likewise, at least 11 percent of the budget goes to debt servicing and interest payment, an increase from 9.8 percent.

Allocation to defense, on the other hand, secured the 5.0 percent of the pie, higher from this year’s 4.3 percent.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte will submit to the House of Representatives the proposed national budget for next year on the day of his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) later this month.

“I told him that we plan to submit this budget at the time of his SONA, and our expectation is that our budget will pass by November this year because it’s already election season next year, so there will be some problem to get a quorum [in Congress],” Diokno told reporters.

The budget chief, meanwhile, said that he sees no need to allocate additional funding for the planned plebiscite for the proposed new constitution.

“I don't see any need for a budget for the plebiscite because the plan is to coincide it with the local elections,” Diokno said.

The proposed national budget for 2019 represents 19.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Earlier, the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) raised the government’s deficit spending ceiling for next year to support the government’s ambitious infrastructure program.

The DBCC raised its budget deficit program for 2019 from 3.0 percent to 3.2 percent of GDP.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the two percentage point increase in deficit ceiling is aimed at maintaining the government’s “aggressive" spending strategy. (CSL)