House starts hearings on P3.3-T 2017 budget today

The House of Representatives appropriations committee will start today its hearings for the P3.3-trillion national budget for 2017 by meeting President Duterte’s economic managers first.

According to committee chair Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles of Davao City, the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) will make a presentation of the budget overview, including the macroeconomic assumptions, projected borrowings, and sources of funds for the country’s annual operations.

The DBCC is composed of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, National Economic and Development Authority director- general Ernesto Pernia, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco.

“We will begin the budget briefings with depart ments and agencies in government all the way up to Sept. 13. Then on Sept. 19, we will bring the budget to the floor for plenary debates,” Nograles said.

He hopes the President can sign the General Appropriations Bill into law by Dec. 7.

House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas is optimistic of a ratification by December.

“We will pass the General Appropriations Bill in time for the President to sign it into law on or before we adjourn on Dec. 14. This will be his first National Expenditure Program and we will see his priorities for his first year in office,” he said.

Nograles said the proposed budget, which is 11.6 percent higher than last year’s, reflects the administration’s priorities such as “peace and order, antidrugs, anti-corruption, wider infrastructure, better transas portation, focus on education, health and social protection, enhanced opportunities for Mindanao, the ARMM and more provinces.”

Also included in the budget is the P23.5 billion for the projects of the 294 members of the House, which provides at least P80 million for each congressman as part of their entitlements or annual allocation, for projects they will identify for implementation to their districts.

Diokno maintained that the proposed budget is “transparent and compliant” to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision declaring the congressional pork barrel and Disbursement Acceleration Program as unconstitutional.

He also promised that Congress will not defy the Supreme Court ruling against lump sum allocations or postenactment congressional insertions. “There will be no hard and fast rule.”