Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 7) — The administration’s planned ₱5.767-trillion budget for next year may force the government to incur more debts, with an estimate of ₱4 billion per day, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said.
“To fully grasp the dimensions of the budget, you have to compute it on a daily basis, to fully appreciate the enormity of both spending and borrowings,” Recto said in a statement on Sunday.According to the lawmaker, the national government targets to spend ₱15.8 billion per day, but only ₱11.7 billion can be financed from collected taxes.This means that the remaining ₱4 billion would be funded from borrowings “every 24 hours,” Recto said.“Kung base naman sa actual na disbursements, mga ₱3.7 billion ang pang-araw-araw na gastusin ang kailangang punuan,” Recto said.[Translation: If it is based on actual disbursements, ₱3.7 billion of daily expenditures needs to be filled up.]Recto stressed that while the “art of budget marketing perfected by all governments” focuses on what will be spent, “what is downplayed is the enormous money required to finance it.”“Programs that dazzle are highlighted while muting the cost, a great portion of which are paid by debts left to the next generation to pay,” he added.Settling the interest alone would cost the Philippines ₱1.8 billion a day in 2024, the lawmaker said.
“However, if the principal amortization requirement of ₱3.4 billion a day is added to the interest payment of ₱1.83 billion, “real” debt service expenditures would be around ₱5.2 billion daily,” Recto said.
The proposed budget was submitted to the House of Representatives last week.
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