Senate to start budget deliberations next week

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate will start plenary deliberations on the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023, with the chamber likely increasing funding for disaster and rehabilitation-related programs.

Sen. Sonny Angara, who chairs the Senate committee on finance, said he intends to file the panel’s report on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) when Congress resumes session on Monday after a month-long recess and sponsor the same on Tuesday.

“The calamity fund budget is roughly P30 billion, which is larger than in past years. Given the increased frequency and magnitude of recent typhoons, this is appropriate,” Angara told reporters.

“Certainly, the committee will always be open to changes, which may help our people during these difficult times and will improve the government’s response to these calamities,” he said.

Senators are expected to hold marathon deliberations on GAB with the aim of passing it before the end of the month.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri earlier said he and his colleagues would review and “readjust” some provisions of the GAB before it leaves the chamber.

Following the recent earthquake in Abra and the battering the country received from Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, Zubiri said the proposed budget “will definitely have to be reconsidered, reviewed and adjusted.”

He said possible amendments to the provisions of the GAB would not only be for the rehabilitation of affected communities, but also to strengthen the capacity of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and concerned agencies.

“We need to fix our fragmented disaster management efforts and adopt a whole-of-government approach going forward,” he said.

The Marcos administration is asking for P31 billion in calamity funds to be administered by the NDRRMC.

Zubiri said the Senate is organizing relief operations across the country and he will be in Mindanao, which was hardest-hit and had the most casualties from Paeng.