House eyes final OK of proposed P5.768-trillion 2024 budget this month

The House of Representatives aims to approve the proposed national budget for 2024 on third and final reading by the end of the month, Speaker Martin Romualdez said Monday.

“We will work morning and afternoon and on Thursday and Friday this week to meet our timeline. The national spending bill is the single most important piece of legislation Congress passes every year,” Romualdez said in a statement ahead of the start of the plenary deliberations on the proposed P5.768-trillion budget on Tuesday.

“September 27, Wednesday, will be the last day of budget deliberation. If needed, the House of Representatives can still hold a session until September 29,” he added.

Congress only holds sessions from Monday to Wednesday. Based on the legislative calendar, Congress is expected to adjourn session on September 28, Wednesday, and resume on November 6, Monday.

The plenary debates on Tuesday morning will kick off with deliberations on the proposed 2024 budgets of the Department of Finance, the Department of Tourism, and the National Economic and Development Authority, including their attached agencies, and offices under the Office of the President (OP).

The plenary deliberations will continue through September 27: 

• September 19: Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Elections, Commission on Human Rights, Department of National Defense, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, and agencies under the OP
• September 20: Judiciary, Department of Justice, Department of Agrarian Reform, Presidential Communications Office, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and state universities and colleges
• September 21: Congress, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Migrant Workers, Department of Labor and Employment, and Department of Interior and Local Government, including its attached agencies, and funding support for several government corporations
• September 25: Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health
• September 26: OP, Office of the Vice President, Department of Education, Metro Manila Development Authority, and Dangerous Drugs Board, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• September 27: Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Transportation, Department of Budget and Management, and lump-sum appropriations

Turno en contra speeches and amendments are also scheduled on that day en route to the expected third and final reading approval. — BM, GMA Integrated News