House approves P5.024-trillion budget for 2022 on final reading

After close to two weeks of plenary deliberations, the House of Representatives on Thursday approved on third and final reading the proposed P5.024 trillion budget for fiscal year 2022.

Voting 238-6-0, the chamber met its target to end the budget deliberations on September 30, giving the final nod to House Bill 10153 before Congress goes on a month-long break.

The chamber formed a panel that will consolidate proposed amendments for the bicameral committee with the Senate. Its members are Representatives Eric Yap, Joey Salceda, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Stella Quimbo, and Edcel Lagman.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said the swift action of the chamber to approve the budget only shows its collective commitment and resolve to help fellow Filipinos, especially at this time of pandemic.

He said this would help the Philippine economy build back better and hasten economic recovery through the effective delivery of government services.

"We were true to our commitment to pass in a timely manner the General Appropriations Act of 2022, ensuring that appropriate funding will be available at Day 1 of the coming year and government programs can proceed without delay," Velasco said in his speech.

The Department of Budget and Management had said the proposed national budget for 2022 is higher by 11.5% than the P4.5-trillion fiscal program for 2021. It is also equivalent to 22.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Committee hearings at the Senate on the proposed appropriations are ongoing.

Non-responsive COVID-19 budget

With the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed budget seeks to continue "to invest in building the country’s resilience amidst the pandemic by prioritizing funding for COVID-19 response measures, such as healthcare development and social services."

House Minority Leader Joseph Stephen Paduano said the non-allocation for medicines and the P45 billion intended for booster shots, listed under the unprogrammed funds, would definitely put the pandemic response program in a very "uncertain state."

"But how will the wounds heal if there are no medicines to treat it? We are currently facing shortage of medical supplies to treat severely and critically infected patients due to scarcity of medicines, especially in the provinces," Paduano said.

"With only less than 5% of the P5.024 trillion proposed national budget that is earmarked for the COVID-19 pandemic response, our public health system is at risk," he added.

For Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate, the proposed national budget for next year is "non-responsive" to the health crisis which continues to hound the lives of every Filipino.

"Ang pambansang budget ng 2022 ay hindi tumutugon sa tunay na pangangailangan sa panahon ng pandemya. Hindi nito pinapahalagahan ang mga frontliners sa sektor ng kalusugan, gaya ng mga doctor, narses at iba pang health workers na nanganganib ang buhay sa paglaban sa COVID-19 virus," Zarate said in his turno en contra speech.

The absence of clear programs for providing assistance to those adversely affected by the pandemic, especially those from the poor sector and those who lost their employment, was also pointed out by Zarate.

"Mismong si President Duterte na ang nagsabi na magtatagal pa ang pandemya, ngunit sa panukalang budget ay hindi makikita ang pagmamalasakit sa mga mahihirap at nawalan ng trabaho," Zarate said.

"Kung di man inalisan ng budget ang ilang programang magsasalba sa ibang sector tulad ng mga drivers, napakaliit ng itinaas ng budget pantulong tulad ng para sa mga manggagawa at OFWs na nawalan ng trabaho," he added.

Drop in the bucket

At the onset of the plenary deliberations on the proposed national budget, Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo had said only P350.223 billion is allocated for COVID-19 response efforts for health and non-health as she cited the 2022 General Appropriations Bill drafted by the DBM.

Quimbo, an economist, pointed out that it is equivalent to only 6.72% of the proposed budget for 2022, and is only 1.95% of the 2020 GDP.

She specifically branded the Department of Health's COVID-19 response funds for next year as "drop in the bucket."

 Albay Representative Joey Salceda acknowledged that the more infectious Delta variant was not considered in the 2022 national budget as the said variant was not yet detected in the country when the budget was being crafted.

Still, the Bicolano lawmaker made assurance that the general principle of the 2022 national budget is acknowledging that "health is wealth."

NO votes

Among those who voted no for the proposed budget was Gabriela party-list Representative Arlene Brosas as she believed that it seeks to spend P385.78 billion as "presidential pork," which includes the P28.1 billion budget for the Barangay Development Program and P10 billion for the Growth Equity Fund.

She claimed that despite the pandemic, the healthcare system is not prioritized in the proposed budget.

"Sa gitna ng papalalang pandemya, prayoridad pa rin ang pork. Prayoridad pa rin ang mga tulay at kalsada habang umaapaw ang mga pasyente sa mga ospital at walang pondo sa dagdag na pasilidad sa mga paaralan," Brosas said.

"Prayoridad pa rin ang pulis at kasundaluhan habang binabarat ang mga manggagawang pangkalusugan. Prayoridad ang pagpaslang kaysa sa pagsasalba ng buhay ng kababaihan at mamamayan," she added.

This was also the point emphasized by Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago, saying that the Duterte administration proposes to spend about 20% of the total budget in infrastructure projects while only 4% is for social protection and aid. 

"The proposed 2022 budget still prioritizes corruption and pork-laden infrastructure and other so-called development projects over urgently needed ‘ayuda’ and more health and life-saving measures. Wala pa rin sa unahan ang laban sa COVID-19," Elago said.

"What the Duterte administration sustains in the 2022 budget is its ‘kill, kill, kill’ legacy---it kills the prospects of real change for the present and future generations," she added.

Aside from supposedly failing to prioritize the healthcare system, ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro also believed that the education sector is neglected in the budget.

"Kapos na kapos ang pinanukala ng administrasyon para sa mga rekisito para sa ligtas na balik-paaralan at sa proteksyon, benepisyo ng mga guro at education support personnel," Castro said.

Top government agencies

The education sector, which is composed of the Department of Education, State Universities and Colleges, and the Commission on Higher Education, is being proposed to receive the biggest chunk of the budget, with a total of P773.6 billion.

Next in line is the Department of Public Works and Highways with P686.1 billion, followed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government with P250.4 billion.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation only comes fourth, with P242.0 billion.

Other agencies with huge budget allocations include the Department of National Defense (P222.0 billion), Department of Social Welfare and Development (P191.4 billion), Department of Transportation (P151.3 billion), the Department of Agriculture and National Irrigation Administration (P103.5 billion),the Judiciary with P45.0, and the Department of Labor and Employment (P44.9 billion).—LDF, GMA News