MALACAÑANG on Thursday urged the Senate to hasten the passage of the proposed P3.767-trillion national budget for 2018.
"We hope that the Senate can swiftly approve its own version of the proposed bill on the national budget so that lawmakers can start working to harmonize their versions of the bill when a bicameral conference committee is convened," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella told a press conference.
The Senate on Thursday received House Bill 6215 or the 2018 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) from the House of Representatives.
Senate finance committee chair Loren Legarda has promised to conduct marathon sessions to complete the budget deliberations of all government agencies before Congress adjourns session on October 12.
Legarda said her committee was slated to file and sponsor the committee report on the 2018 GAB next week after the submission of subcommittee reports this week.
The Senate is expected to approve on third and final reading its proposed 2018 budget upon the resumption of sessions on November 13.
Once the Senate approves the measure, the bicameral conference committee will be convened so that the Senate and House can reconcile the differences between the respective versions of the proposed budget.
Legarda said the bicameral panel was targeting to submit the final version to President Rodrigo Duterte by the second week of December.
“We aim to submit the 2018 GAB to the President in the second week of December and hopefully, enacted way ahead before Christmas. This way, agencies would have time to plan the execution of approved projects and programs before the holidays," the senator said.
"Hopefully, this would help in the early disbursement of funds and a more efficient obligation," she added.
Duterte submitted the proposed 2018 budget to Congress on his second State of the Nation Address held on July 24.
The proposed budget for 2018 is 12.4 percent higher than the P3.35-trillion budget allocated this year.
Abella said the P3.767-trillion budget next year would help improve the lives of the Filipino people.
"The rationale behind this (submission of 2018 budget on July 24) is to give Congress ample time to review the budget and early time to approve it," Abella said.
"Through our 2018 national budget, we hope to lay down the foundation for a ‘Stable, Comfortable, and Peaceful Life,’ as anchored on our Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022," he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
