The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is urging the public to participate in the government’s budget preparation process to ensure a responsive allocation and contribute to the achievement of the country’s development goals.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the Marcos administration is now preparing the 2024 budget.
“We ask the national government agencies, our government-owned and controlled corporations… even the local government units to take part in our consultations,” Pangandaman said.
“We want the people to participate so that we ensure our budget is something that is responsive in adherence to our 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and our Philippine Development Plan… to reach our goal of single-digit poverty level, decrease our deficit, and achieve the high-middle income status of the country.”
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman
The DBM has started a series of budget consultations with national government agencies (NGA) and GOCCs, as part of preparations for the drafting of the National Expenditure Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.
Pangandaman emphasized that the 2023 budget, which was signed into law by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last December, was crafted to attain the economic objectives set in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF).
“The P5.268 trillion budget that the President signed is consistent with that 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda,” she said.
The 2023 national budget supports the overall goals of the administration to reinvigorate job creation and reduce poverty by steering the economy back to its high-growth path in the near term, and sustaining a high, inclusive, and resilient growth all through 2028.
The budget sets the path to attain the headline goals of the current administration, such as bringing down the deficit to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2028; achieving less than 60 percent debt-to-GDP ratio by 2025; and reaching a 9 percent or single-digit poverty rate by 2028.
