Proposed P5.2-T nat'l budget for 2023 to be submitted to Congress on Aug. 22 - DBM

The Marcos administration will adopt the budget ceiling set by the previous government as it intends to submit its first full-year budget to Congress two days before the constitutional deadline.

“As discussed during the DBCC meeting, we will stick with the P5.2 trillion as previously announced,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said at press conference following the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting.

The Duterte administration’s DBCC set the 2023 budget ceiling at P5.268 trillion.

Former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) officer-in-charge Tina Canda earlier said that the Marcos administration should adhere to the P5.268-trillion budget ceiling “for prudent fiscal management.”

The President, in accordance with Section 22, Article VII of the Constitution, shall submit his proposed national budget to Congress within 30 days from the opening of the regular session of the Congress.

The 19th Congress is set to open on July 25, the day of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s first State of the Nation Address. This means the DBM has until August 24 to submit to lawmakers the proposed budget for 2023.

“We will submit the budget to Congress on August 22," Pangandaman said.

She said the DBM would maximize the timeline provided by the Constitution “to give way and accommodate for the priority projects of the new Cabinet secretaries.”

Pangandaman earlier said the proposed 2023 national budget would focus on the following:

•     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

—VBL, GMA News