P5.268-T nat’l budget gets Senate approval
With 21 affirmative votes, no negative votes, and no abstentions, the Senate approved the General Appropriations Bill containing the proposed P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023.
During Wednesday’s session, the GAB for next year which is also the first appropriations measure of the Marcos administration hurdled the upper chamber of Congress after almost two weeks of marathon hearings at the committee level and interpellations in plenary.
Senator Sonny Angara, who sponsored the measure, said a total of P152 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds has been realigned as maintenance and other operating expenses.
The biggest realignment, Angara said, came from the proposed P150 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds of the Department of Education.
From the proposed P150 million allocation for CIFs, the DepEd’s CIFs are now trimmed to P50 after transferring the P100 million to the operating expenses of the Office of the Vice President.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, during the period of individual amendments, requested her colleagues to transfer the P100 million confidential funds back to the DepEd for its Health Learners Institution Program.
Both Houses of Congress are set to hold bicameral conference committee meetings on 25 November to come up with a reconciled GAB version.
Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, accepted Hontiveros’ proposal.
At least P9.3 billion worth of CIFs under the 2023 GAB was requested scrapped by Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel.
The Senate’s version of the P5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 also reduced the allocations for CIFs of the following departments and agencies, namely: P5 million for the Department of Foreign Affairs; P19.2 million for the Department of Justice; P20 million for the Office of the Ombudsman; P6 million for other executive offices; and P2 million for the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Both Houses of Congress are set to hold bicameral conference committee meetings on 25 November to come up with a reconciled GAB version.