The House of Representatives is expected to approve the P5.024-trillion proposed national budget for 2022 on third and final reading this morning after President Duterte certified the measure as urgent.
“Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 Section 26 paragraph 2 of the 1987 Constitution, I hereby certify to the immediate enactment of House Bill No. 10153, entitled An Act Appropriating Funds for the Operation of the Government of the Philippines from January 1 to December 31, 2022,” the President told Speaker Lord Allan Jay Velasco in a letter transmitted to the House on Wednesday evening.
The President said the certification would address the need “to maintain continuous government operation following the end of the current fiscal year, to expedite the funding of various programs, projects and activities for fiscal year 2022, and to ensure budgetary preparedness that will enable the government to effectively perform its constitutional mandate.”
The certification allows Congress to do away with the requirement of passing the measure on second and on third reading on separate days, making it possible for congressmen to pass the appropriation measure on the last session day as Congress adjourns for a month-long break.
In the proposed National Expenditures Program for 2022, the Office of the President (OP) asked for a bigger travel budget next year after COVID-19 pandemic grounded the President and Executive officials since last year.
The OP is asking for a budget of P8.18 billion for next year, including an 11 percent increase in its travel funds from P283.33 million in 2021 to P314.37 million next year.
Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) noted that the increase is being requested even as the nation continues to grapple with the pandemic, but Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo Jalosjos Jr., who sponsored the OP’s proposed budget, said the increase was due to the canceled local and foreign trips since last year.
“They are planning to do those travels for next year,” he said, adding that the official travels of the Executive are also a way to “move forward from this pandemic.”
