NATION | Duterte signs ‘pro-people’ P3.35-T 2017 budget

In this Dec. 22, 2016 photo, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the P3.35 trillion national budget for 2017. The STAR/Alexis Romero  and Rosette Adel

           

MANILA, Philippines  — President Duterte on Thursday signed into law next year’s P3.35 trillion budget as he vowed to ensure that state funds would benefit the poor and vulnerable sectors.

In his speech, Duterte said the 2017 national budget is the “embodiment of Filipinos’ clamor for change.” He said the first ever budget of his administration would be “pro-people, pro-investment, pro-growth and pro-development.”

“I have said this before and I will reiterate it. The budget is useless if the Filipino is not at its center. This budget is a credible budget where every peso will be spent for the governments, for the gains of the Filipino people,” Duterte said during the ceremonial signing of the 2017 budget in Malacañan.

“The signing of the GAA (General Appropriations Act) affirms the national government commitment to support the needs of our people, to enhance basic social services and project,” he added.

Duterte lauded Congress and the Budget department for ensuring the timely approval of the national expenditure program, which would allow him to carry out his priority programs.

He lamented that the ”bottoms up approach” of the previous administration ate up most of the budget this year.

“What was left to me was the budget for the maintenance and (other operating expenses) so when the drug problem erupted, we never expected that the number of addicts would turn out to be hundreds of thousands, I was really helpless,” Duterte said.

“I could not get the money from the other departments and use it for the purpose of another department because I said, that would be stealing from Paul to pay Peter,” he added.

Duterte signed the 2017 General Appropriations Act or Republic Act 10924 at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan Palace, the first under his administration.

Breakdown

The Education department got the highest allocation with P544.1 billion. The budget will fund basic education facilities, the salaries of teaching and non-teaching positions and the development of learning resources to more than 20 million students.

Poor but deserving Filipinos will also be given access to tertiary education through the P58.72 billion allocation for state universities and colleges and the P18.7 billion outlay for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The Social Welfare department was given P128.3 billion, a significant portion of which has been allotted for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program and monthly rice subsidies for poor households.

“This annual amount includes 78.2 billion for the Conditional Cash Transfer program. CCT beneficiaries will also receive a monthly rice allowance to ensure that there is food on the table for every Filipino family,” Duterte said.

“Both the young and the old will also be taken care of, (through) the supplemental feeding program for daycare children and the increased coverage of the social pension for the indigent senior citizens,” he added.

The Health department was allotted P96.3 billion to provide the poor access to modern health facilities and services. The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was given P53.22 billion to fund the universal health care program.

The Interior and Local Government department got P148 billion to enable it to step up efforts against illegal drugs, build new jail facilities and increase the allowance for prisoners.

The Duterte administration allocated P486.9 billion for internal revenue allotment to enable local governments to implement development programs.

“The national intensification and the household electrification program in off-grid areas will also be prioritized. Included in the budget of herein is the 1.1 billion budget, an increase of 38.4 from its 2016 budget is the electrification efforts for remote areas,” the president said.

“This aims to empower our kababayans (countrymen) in provinces so they can be efficient and productive stakeholders in revitalizing our communities and industries,” he added.

The Defense department was given P137.2 billion for territorial defense, security and stability services.

“We will pursue the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Modernization Program for the maintenance of major equipment, aircraft vessels and increase in ammunition capacity as well as the veterans’ hospitalization benefits,” Duterte said.

“Our men and women in uniform deserve development because they dedicate sweat and blood to protect our beloved Philippines,” he added.

The Public Works department was given P454.7 billion while the Transportation department was allotted P53.3billionn to bankroll public infrastructure, one of the priorities of the Duterte administration.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the significant increase in the budgets of the two agencies and the P850 billion allotment for the construction of road networks, school buildings, hospitals and other public work would raise productivity, create jobs and attract investments.

“It will also facilitate the conduct of business and improve the mobility of people and accessibility of basic services,” Diokno said.

Duterte said farmers would no longer have to pay for irrigation fees as the costs would be shouldered by the National Irrigation Authority, which was given P38.4 billion for next year.

The Agriculture department was granted P45.2 billion while the Agrarian Reform department was provided with P9.8 billion.

“The two departments will intensify their support to Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) and non-ARC and redistribute agricultural lands to farmers,” Diokno said.

The government will also grant crop insurance to 1.3 million farmers and fisher folks to mitigate the impact of typhoons and other natural calamities.

Programs for climate change adaptation, improvement of harvest productivity, research and development, market development, and construction of farm-to-market roads were also given funding to support farmers.

The bicameral conference composed of members of both the House of Representatives and Senate approved the proposed P3.35 trillion national budget for 2017 last Tuesday. It was ratified the next day.

Former President Benigno Aquino III also signed his final budget last year also on the same date, December 22.