The Transportation and Agriculture departments received the biggest budget increases in the proposed 2023 P5.268 trillion national budget but the education sector remains to be the recipient of the budget’s largest chunk, Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said on Monday.
The 2023 National Expenditure Program, which is 4.9 percent higher than this year’s budget, can “withstand future risks, challenges, and shocks,” the Budget chief assured as she led the submission of the expenditure plan to Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
Pangandaman said the Department of Transportation will receive P167.1 billion in 2023 — an increase of 120.4 percent from its P75.8 billion budget in 2022.
Meanwhile, the agriculture sector — covering the Department of Agriculture, its attached corporations, and the Department of Agrarian Reform — will receive P184.1 billion, or a 39.2 percent increase from its 2022 allocation. The figure includes P29.5 billion for irrigation services.
The DA received a 43.9 percent increase in next year’s budget alone.
DA’s National Rice Program will receive P30.5 billion to help the public get access to affordable rice and for the production of vital agricultural commodities. Its increase is largely attributed to the P19.5 billion budget for the expansion of fertilizer support to make fertilizers more accessible to rice farmers and minimize their production losses.
“In support of the mandate of our President, and in anticipation of a global food crisis and for the long-term goal of food self-sufficiency, we increased the budget of the DA by 43.9 percent, to cover the funding requirements for its programs and projects,” Pangandaman said, adding that this is in line with the President’s directive that top priority must be given to the agriculture sector to invigorate and transform this sector “from being an economic laggard to one of the main drivers for growth and employment.”
The priority given to agriculture was contrary to a published Daily Tribune report on Monday which inadvertently used the 2022 NEP as the basis.
Education
The education sector remains the top budgetary priority as mandated by the Constitution at P852.8 billion.
The sector is composed of the Department of Education, State Universities and Colleges, Commission on Higher Education and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
DepEd’s budget will increase from P633.3 billion in 2022 to P710.6 billion in 2023. Of this amount, P47.4 billion has been allocated to fund the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Program, providing free tuition and other school fees to college students.
Infrastructure
A total of P1.196 trillion has been allocated for the government’s 2023 infrastructure programs to support “shovel-ready infrastructure programs under the ‘Build, Better, More Program’ to propel growth in agriculture, trade and tourism sectors.”
The Department of Public Works and Highways proposed a P718.4 billion budget in 2023. It was, however, nine percent lower than this year’s P786.6 billion.
“The decrease (is) due to non-recurring capital outlay projects and the devolution of some programs and projects to local governments, as mandated by the Supreme Court Ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia Case,” the DBM said.
Health
The government’s health sector will receive a 10.4 percent budget increase at P296.3 billion in 2023 in a bid to ramp up vaccination efforts, inclusive of the budgets of the Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
DBM noted that DoH will receive one of the biggest increases in the budget with P196.1 billion.
Around P29 billion has been allocated to purchase drugs, medicine, and vaccines while more than P19 billion has been allocated for the salary and benefits of healthcare workers.
Social Safety Nets
The Department of Social Welfare and Development will receive a P197 billion budget in 2023 that includes the proposed increase of the budget allocation for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program at P115.6 billion.
The allocated budget for the implementation of 4Ps increased by 7.3 percent from this year’s P107.7 billion. The government shall continue to fully support the 4Ps, the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances, Sustainable Livelihood Program, and the Supplementary Feeding Program.
Labor
At least P18.4 billion of the total P26.2 billion budget for the Department of Labor and Employment will be used to implement its Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program to help beneficiaries recover from the economic displacement caused by the pandemic.
Defense
In anticipation of destructive typhoons and other natural calamities, the budget of the Department of National Defense has been increased by 9 percent in 2023 to P240.7 billion.
Some P31 billion was allocated to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund.
Energy
The Department of Energy will receive a total of P476 million in 2023 for its programs such as the Renewable Energy, Development Program, Energy Efficiency, and Conservation Program, and Alternative Fuels and Technologies Program.
Some P500 million has been allocated to energize 10,000 households nationwide while P1.6 billion has been given to energize 1,085 sitios across the country.
Environment
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has an allocation of P24.1 billion in 2023, to support the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, protection of coastal and marine areas, and planting of seedlings on 11,631 hectares of land.
Green governance
The Marcos administration has allocated P453.1 billion for climate change expenditures, focusing on food security, water sufficiency, and environmental stability, among others.
Pangandaman said the DBM, in collaboration with the Climate Change Commission, “developed a mechanism, the Climate Change Expenditure Tagging, to track and report climate change expenditures focused on food security, water sufficiency, ecosystem, and environmental stability, human security, climate-smart industries and services, knowledge and capacity development and sustainable energy.”
Digitization
She said the DBM will prioritize digitalization and accelerate digital transformation.
It has allotted some P12.1 billion to fund ICT projects, and will fast-track the rollout of the Philippine Identification System cards for 92 million Filipinos by mid-2023.
Meanwhile, P10 billion was provided to support the barangay development program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.