House opens hearings on ₧4.5-T ’21 budget

THE House of Representatives will start on Friday (today) scrutinizing the P4.5-trillion 2021 National Expenditure Program (NEP). Invited to the first day of the budget hearing at the plenary hall are members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC): Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno. Unlike the previous hearings, Deputy Speaker for Finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte said a maximum of 50 attendees will be present physically in Congress, including representatives from each agency to be chosen by their respective departments. He said the rest of the House members and the national agencies’ officials will join the deliberations via teleconferencing apps. “The leadership really has to make sure that aside from being transparent and deliberative, the hearings must be safe. That’s why the number of people present has to be limited, but at the same time it doesn’t mean that those participating through Zoom cannot participate. However, if there are issues in which they must be personally present, they can be summoned,” he said. Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House is eyeing to finish the budget hearings before the end of this month and immediately transmit the expenditure program to the Senate for its own deliberations. “For the first time in history, we can sign the budget maybe late November or mid-november as a sign of unity by our country,” he said. Under the schedule, the budget hearings for Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. will be on Monday, September 7. Facing the House on Tuesday are Department of National Defense, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Department of Social Welfare and Development. On Wednesday, the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Technical Skills and Development Authority, Department of Labor and Employment and Commission on Higher Education are expected to defend their budget. On Thursday, invited to the budget hearings are Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Tourism, and Department of Agriculture.

On Friday invited agencies are Presidential Communications Operations Office, Department of Information and Communications Technology and Department of Public Works and Highways. On September 14 the Judiciary, Department of Justice, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and Department of Health will face the members of the chamber. On September 15 the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President, Department of Transportation and Department of Education are expected to present their budget. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the 2021 NEP will prioritize health-related response programs while restarting the economy amid the continuing threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the theme of “Reset, Rebound and Recover: Investing for Resiliency and Sustainability,” the DBM said the proposed 2021 national budget will sustain government efforts to improve the country’s health-care system, ensure food security, create jobs and enable digital infrastructure while protecting the most vulnerable sector of the society amid the pandemic. The 2021 expenditure plan is higher than this year’s budget by 9.9 percent and equivalent to 21.8 percent of GDP.

Public participation

MEANWHILE, Cayetano said the direct participation of the people in the national budget deliberations can help counter the misinformation prevalent on social media. He said Congress is taking advantage of the increased use of social media during the time of the pandemic to invite people to join the discussions even as direct participants. Villafuerte said the House is also looking into the possibility of creating a separate message board and a new social-media account to accommodate more participants. House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. assured the public that lawmakers from the minority would thoroughly review the budget to ensure that funds go where they are most needed and financial resources are not wasted on unnecessary items. “Let me stress that while we are grateful to the Executive for preparing this budget and we respect the work they have put into it, we as legislators are dutybound to review the budget, reassess the priorities and line items, if necessary, and reallocate funds to other programs and projects that we believe require additional financial resources,” said Abante. “This does not mean we will not cooperate with efforts to pass the budget as fast as humanly possible,” he added.