SUMMARY
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AT A GLANCE
- The education and infrastructure sector continued to receive the biggest chunk of the 2020 P4.1-trillion national budget. The two sectors alone comprise more than a fourth of the fiscal plan.
- Generally, most government agencies received budget hikes.
- President Rodrigo Duterte’s P4.5-billion confidential and intelligence funds was approved by lawmakers without a hitch.
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines needs to play catch-up, after the government operated under a reenacted budget for 4 months in 2019.
This will reflect on the priorities of the P4.1-trillion budget for 2020.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11465 on Monday, January 6. The delay in the signing of the budget bill prompted the government to operate under a reenacted budget again, but, according to Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, the weeklong delay wouldn’t have much of an impact on operations.
The 2020 General Appropriations Act is P438 billion or 11.8% higher than the P3.662-trillion national budget for 2019. It represents 19.4% of the country’s projected gross domestic product this year.
Similar to budgets of previous years, the 2020 appropriations law prioritized education, infrastructure, and interior affairs. The winner of them all, however, was the Department of Public Works and Highways, as it gained the most funds compared to other agencies.
While the full copy of the 2020 budget has yet to be released, Rappler was able to acquire a copy of the bicameral conference committee report on the fiscal plan.
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