Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 27) — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday certified as urgent the bill containing the proposed ₱5.268-trillion national budget for 2023.
The single-page document received by the office of House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Sept. 16 showed Marcos calling for the urgent passage of House Bill No. 4488, or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
Marcos deemed the urgent passage of the bill “in order to address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the current fiscal year, strengthen efforts to respond more effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, and support initiatives towards national economic recovery.”
With the president’s certification, the House may disregard the requirement that bills go through three different readings on separate days.
The proposal for the national budget could be approved on second and third reading on the same day.
According to House Speaker Romualdez, the schedule for the approval of the GAB is “right on track.”
“We are right on track with our schedule. The certification from Malacañang will enable the House of Representatives to approve the 2023 GAB on second and third reading on the same day which we set on Wednesday,” he said in a statement.
The budget bill is being deliberated in plenary at the House.
Committee on Appropriations senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo earlier said the House aims to approve the proposed budget for 2023 by Sept. 28.
Deliberations on the budget have also begun at the committee level in the Senate.
Under Article VI, Section 24 of the 1987 Constitution, all appropriation bills must originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may amend or approve them.
The Department of Budget and Management’s proposed budget for next year includes double-digit increases in the country’s allocated funds for education, infrastructure, health, social protection, and agriculture.
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