President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday signed into law the P5.768 trillion General Appropriation Act for 2024, a budget the chief executive said was meticulously crafted by the national government and Congress to sustain the Philippines’ high-growth trajectory,
“This budget is more than a spreadsheet of amount… It details our plan in fighting poverty and combating illiteracy, in producing food and ending hunger, in protecting our homes and securing our border, in treating the sick and keeping our people healthy, in creating jobs and funding livelihood,” the president said.
“In the end, every line in this budget when translated to projects — from roads, to schools, to hospitals — will transform our country for the better,” he continued.
Bottomline, the 2024 budget is geared towards achieving the country’s economic goals specifically identified in the Administration’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, the Eight-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
President Marcos said government agencies must be prudent and maximize the return on resources allocated to them to ensure the welfare, progress and prosperity of every Filipino. “Doing so will bring us closer to the brighter tomorrow we aspire for and the Bagong Pilipinas that we all envision for our people. Let us all work in solidarity for a more empowered Philippines,” he said.
House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has said that the 2024 budget included half-a-trillion pesos allocation to assist the poor and households with insufficient income. He the almost P500 billion social amelioration program or ‘ayuda’ will benefit at least 12 million poor and low-income families or an estimated 48 million Filipinos.
Romualdez said the social amelioration fund will also help in assessing the Philippines’ claim in territories in the West Philippine Sea, where China has aggressively staked its claim.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said the 2024 budget is a “very responsive” battle plan in addressing poverty, health, security, creating jobs and funding livelihood, among others. He said the budget for social services has significantly increased, particularly in the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the TUPAD program of the Department of Labor and Employment which gives emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers.
“We have also increased the defense budget for the coast guard, navy and army. We are very happy with the budget. This is one of the most responsive and progressive budgets of our country in a while,” Zubiri added.
The 2024 budget also stripped civilian agencies, including the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, both under Vice President Sarah Duterte, of all confidential funds, which were primarily allocated for national security activities and the protection of the country’s claims over territories in the West Philippine Sea.
