Gov’t rules out another reenacted budget plan
Government officials on Thursday ruled out the likelihood of another reenacted budget plan this year as both the Senate and House of Representatives coordinate better this time around.
At the sidelines of the Development Policy Research Month news conference, Senate Economic Planning Office Director General Ronald Golding said there should be no worries over the delay of the nation’s spending plan for 2020.
Our own experiences taught us many lessons. We believe that such delay will not happen again because we know its impact on the entire economy.
“From an insider point, there should be no worries about a possible budget re-enactment this time. The Senate and the House (of Representatives) have better coordination now,” Golding said.
He said lawmakers already learned their lesson after last year’s budget delay put the country’s economic growth at risk this year.
This week, Education Secretary Leonor Briones expressed optimism there should be no delay in the 2020 budget approval.
“The situation always changes but the new leadership is committed to having the budget approved on time,” Briones said.
“Our own experiences taught us many lessons. We believe that such delay will not happen again because we know its impact on the entire economy,” Briones added.
The budget controversy over the 2020 national budget resurfaced on Tuesday when House Bill 4228 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) filed by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab was reinstated.
The bill was withdrawn by Deputy Speaker for Finance and Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr, sparking apprehension of another delay in the approval process.
President Duterte already approved on 5 August 2019 the P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020 designed to respond to the needs of the majority of Filipinos to be uprooted from decades of inadequate government services.