Senate slashed House version of DSWD proposed 2024 budget by P714M -Imee

The Senate has slashed the House of Representatives’ version of the proposed 2024 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) by over P714 million, Senator Imee Marcos said Thursday.

Marcos, sponsor of DSWD’s budget, disclosed this at the Senate plenary deliberations of the DSWD’s proposed spending plan for next year.

For 2024, Marcos said the Executive Department proposed P209.668 billion under the National Expenditure Program (NEP). The House of Representatives increased it to P245.130 billion or by P35.462 billion.

While the Senate retained most of the augmentations introduced by the House, Marcos said the upper chamber still decreased the House-proposed budget for DSWD to P244.416 billion or a net reduction of P714.166 million.

“There’s a discrepancy as clearly seen between the NEP, the Congressional version, as well as the Senate version,” Marcos said.

“In the meantime, we retained but there’s also a significant reduction in the Senate version,” she said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino noted that the “huge changes” were introduced in the DSWD’s Office of the Secretary.

According to Marcos, the reduction was introduced in the budget for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as well as the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

“I think the reduction involves the 4Ps, those who have graduated and also the different projects like the reduction in the Sustainable Livelihood, I believe as it has already been encompassed by other projects,” she said.

“I think there is an effort to streamline and simplify this livelihood project,” she added. —KBK, GMA Integrated News