Incoming DBM chief to craft 'broad-based, inclusive' 2023 budget

Incoming Budget secretary Amenah  Pangandaman has vowed to craft a 2023 budget that will promote a broad-based and inclusive economic recovery and growth.

In a statement, Pangandaman said President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed her to draft the government’s 2023 National Expenditure Program containing his priority programs and projects.

She said that with the “goal of economic reconstruction,” Marcos’ 2023 budget’s focus areas are as follows:

•     agricultural and food security
•     climate change adaptation
•     economic recovery
•     improved healthcare and education
•     enhanced infrastructure projects including digital infrastructure
•     utilization of renewable energy sources
•     strengthened tourism and jobs creation
•     sustainable development, among others

“I aspire to draft and implement a budget that will promote a broad-based and inclusive economic recovery and growth,” Pangandaman said.

“President-elect Marcos’ priority programs are in line with that,” she added.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has set the 2023 budget ceiling at P5.2688 trillion.

Outgoing Budget Acting Secretary Tina Canda said the incoming administration has to stick to the P5.268-trillion budget ceiling “for prudent fiscal management.”

Pangandaman, meanwhile, said “the entire economic team is set to meet soon and that she will work with them to fulfill President-elect Marcos’ campaign promises.”

Marcos' economic team is composed of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno as Finance secretary, Philippine Competition Commission chairperson Arsenio Baliscan as Socioeconomic Planning secretary, Monetary Board Member Felipe Medalla as BSP governor.

The proposed budget, contained in the NEP, is accompanied by the President's budget message, which encapsulates the budget’s policy thrust and priorities.

Under the Constitution, the NEP will be submitted to Congress within thirty days from the opening of the regular session.

The House of Representatives and the Senate will open the first regular session of the 19th Congress on July 25.

The House of Representatives (HOR) will deliberate on the President's budget, while the Senate in turn conducts a parallel review, according to Pangandaman.

“The two houses of Congress will then meet through the bicameral committee to reconcile the different versions of the budget bill. The bill will be transmitted to the President for approval,” she said.—AOL, GMA News