MANILA -- The House of Representatives began the deliberations for the proposed FY 2023 national budget with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) comprised of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance (DOF), and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), on August 26, 2022.

BSP Governor Felipe Medalla and NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan presented the DBCC’s macroeconomic and growth assumptions, respectively, followed by DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno who discussed the government’s fiscal and revenue collection performance, and how the budget will be financed in 2023 and over the medium-term.

Finally, DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman briefed the Congress on the proposed FY 2023 national budget amounting to PhP5.268 trillion.

The said budget embodies the country’s “agenda for prosperity,” aimed at attaining the headline goals of bringing down the deficit to 3% of GDP by 2028 and lowering the national government’s debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60% by 2025.

“Our proposed national budget was crafted based on and in support of the Administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and anchored on pillars that address the immediate and pressing concerns of all Filipinos in the near- and medium-term,” Pangandaman shared.

The said pillars include: 1. strengthening the purchasing power of Filipinos through food security, improved transportation, and affordable and clean energy; 2. reducing vulnerability and mitigating scarring from the COVID-19 pandemic through social protection, health care, and education; 3. enhancing bureaucratic efficiency through digitalization; and 4. supporting local governments through full devolution, among other programs.

“Together with our partners in Congress, the DBCC hopes to usher in prosperity through economic transformation towards inclusivity and sustainability” the Budget Chief concluded. (DBM)