By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — As promised, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. officially signed the 2024 national budget into law, totaling P5.76 trillion on Wednesday (20 Dec 2023).

In his address, President Marcos emphasized that the 2024 General Appropriations Act represents an “annual social contract with taxpayers,” assuring them that their faithful contributions will be fully reinvested.

He stated, “It details our battle plan in combating poverty and illiteracy, challenging the notion that the budget merely covers bureaucratic expenses. Instead, it allocates funds to address the fundamental issues our nation must overcome.”

President Marcos highlighted that the 2024 national budget aims to enhance both the physical and human capital of the nation. He expressed optimism that the allocated expenditures will bring about positive transformations in the lives of Filipinos and contribute to the nation’s progress.

However, President Marcos acknowledged that the 2024 budget might fall short of fully financing the ambitious goals his administration has set for the nation. He remarked, “I wish we could address our infrastructure backlog within a single budget cycle. I wish we had unlimited revenues to unlock our country’s vast potential.”

(IAmigo/MNM)

By Liza Soriano

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has assured that the Senate will pass the proposed 2024 national budget by first week or second week of December.

“Our commitment, to answer your question, we will pass it on time. We will finish it by the first week of December; I would believe it would be ready for the President’s signature, [the] latest [by] second week of December,” Zubiri said during the special joint session of both houses on Saturday.

During the joint session, the House of Representatives transmitted the final version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to the upper house.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Romualdez said that it will be the decision of the Senate whether to follow the lead of the lower house in removing the confidential funds of five agencies or not.

“The ball is in our hands, ‘ika nga sa basketball, nando’n na po sa amin,” Zubiri said.

“Unfortunately, hindi na po namin nakasama ‘yong aming chairman ng committee on appropriations today so we’ll act on his behalf, si Senator Angara, he just came back from an overseas mission, but kami po ni Senator Joel Villanueva our Majority Floor Leader, at iba pong mga senador — nandito po si Senator JV Ejercito, and some other senators ay handa po tumanggap po ng final version of the House of Representatives’ 2024 national budget,” the Senate President added.

(ai/mnm)