By Liezelle Soriano
Majority Leader and Representative of the Second District of Zamboanga City, Manuel Jose Dalipe, moved to send the proposed 2024 national budget to the Senate on Saturday.
This move took place during a plenary session originally intended to welcome the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“Mr. Speaker, I propose that we immediately transmit House Bill No. 8980 and the resolutions we have adopted to the Senate,” Dalipe announced.
House Bill No. 8980 contains the General Appropriations Bill, which was approved with amendments by a small committee. However, it saw a reallocation of P194 billion, including the P1.23 billion designated for confidential funds.
Five government agencies received zero funding for their confidential fund requests.
These are the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Education, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The regular session is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 6.
(ai/mnm)