House ratifies P3-trillion national budget for 2016

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives ratified on Wednesday, December 16, the P3-trillion national budget for 2016.

A day before the House adjourns for the holiday break, members of the House of Representatives ratified the biggest national budget proposal to date. Senate separately ratified it on Monday.

The proposed P3.002 trillion budget – representing an increase from 2015’s P2.606 trillion – will be transmitted to the Office of the President for signature.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad noted that the government was able to double the national funding since 2010, from P1.645 trillion in 2011 to P3.002 trillion in 2016. He attributed the increased budget to proper revenue collection “without raising taxes.”  

During the budget’s approval last week, both the House and the Senate agreed to pass the budget on time. Lawmakers had consistently passed the annual budget on time under the Aquino administration.

Among the notable segments of the proposed national budget includes: 

• An increased budget for the Office of the Vice President, the Department of Energy, the Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Transportation and Communications
• An increase of P1.2 billion in the budget for indigent senior citizens

• A P2.7-billion increase in the budget of state universities and colleges to cover their capital outlays
• The veterans’ pension totaling P4.7 billion was sustained

It also contains the P7 billion funding for the Salary Standardization Law of 2015, whose first phase will be implemented next year. Senate failed to ratify the SSL as it adjourned its last session before the Christmas break.

SSL increases the salaries of government workers to level it with private sector rates.– Rappler.com