Metro Manila, Philippines— President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the proposed ₱5.768-trillion national funding for next year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Friday.
The proposed budget reflects a 9.5% increase from 2023’s ₱5.268 trillion, the DBM said in a statement.
“Guided by our Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, the proposed national budget will continue to prioritize expenditures outlined in the administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and cater to the objectives of PDP 2023-2028,” DBM chief Amenah Pangandaman was quoted as saying in the statement.
“It shall continue to reflect our commitment to pursue economic and social transformation to address the scarring effects of the pandemic, as well as the impact of inflation, by prioritizing shovel-ready investments in infrastructure projects, investments in human capital development, and sustainable agriculture and food security, among others,” she added.
Pangandaman noted that the DBM received a total of ₱5.90 billion in budget proposals, but the figure was trimmed down due to the “limited fiscal space.”
“We optimized the allocation of resources by ensuring that the PAPs (programs, activities, and projects) that will be budgeted are implementation-ready, and must be delivered and executed on time,” she said.
The official plans to submit the proposed 2024 national budget to Congress “a few weeks” after Marcos’ second State of the Nation Address in July.
