Ni NOEL ABUEL
Kumpiyansa ang Mababang Kapulungan ng Kongreso na bago ang recess ng Kongreso ay maipapasa ang 2025 national budget.
Ito ang sa ipinangako ni Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez na binanggit ang maagang pagsusumite ng National Expenditure Program (NEP) at ang puspusang pagsisikap ng mga miyembro nito.
Sa pulong balitaan, binigyan-diin nina House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe at Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. ang kahalagahan ng pagsunod sa timeline upang matiyak na may sapat na panahon ang Senado upang suriin ang panukala.
“Every budget process is very challenging. As much as possible, we want to work on deadline and transmit it before the October break,” ayon kay Dalipe.
“Our counterparts in the Senate also have to work on it, so we are aiming to approve the House General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on third reading by the third or fourth week of September,” dagdag nito.
Ayon sa legislative calendar, magre-recess ang Kongreso mula Setyembre 28 hanggang Nobyembre 3.
Sinabi ni Dalipe na ang mahusay na gawaing ginagawa ng chairman at ng iba’t ibang vice chairs ng House Committee on Appropriations, kasama ang aktibong partisipasyon ng minorya sa mga deliberasyon ng budget, ay nagbibigay ng kumpiyansa na matutugunan ang deadline.
Sinabi naman ni Gonzales na ang lahat ng miyembro ng Kamara ay kasalukuyang abala sa pagre-review ng budget.
“Yesterday, we received copies of the NEP, and all Congress members are now very busy. They are reviewing each agency’s budget as we tackle it next week,” sabi ni Gonzales.
Una nang isinumite ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. sa pamamagitan ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ang P6.352-trillion NEP sa Kongreso tatlong linggo bago ang constitutional mandate timeline kung saan pinuri ito nina Dalipe at Gonzales.
“We congratulate the PBBM administration for submitting it three weeks ahead of schedule. With that, we can start the ball rolling,” ayon ni pa kay Dalipe.
“The instruction of the House leadership is for the Committee on Appropriations to start with the budget briefings without any delay. By next week, we will begin the budget briefing of the 2025 NEP,” aniya pa.
Sinimulan ang budget briefing sa susunod na Lunes ng Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), na kinaaniban ng DBM, Department of Finance, at iba pang ahensya na sangkot budget creation.
“We will not delay things. We are eager to start deliberation, and the members of the House are ready to scrutinize the proposed budget presented by President Bongbong Marcos,” pagtitiyak pa ni Dalipe.
“As far as I know, this is the first for the President to submit the budget three weeks ahead. I would like to congratulate our President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and our Speaker,” dagdag pa ni Gonzales.
“The early submission allows us to start the briefing on Monday with the DBCC, chaired by Chairman Zaldy Co. We will scrutinize the budget thoroughly,” saad pa nito.
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