MANILA – Malacañang thanked the House of Representatives for the timely passage of the P4.506-trillion 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on third and final reading on Friday.
A total of 267 lawmakers approved the passage of House Bill 7727 or the 2021 GAB on second and third reading on the same day. Six lawmakers opposed while no one abstained from voting.
“We thank the House of Representatives for passing on third and final reading the 2021 General Appropriations Bill on time or within the special session called by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.
According to him, President Duterte articulated the importance of the 2021 national budget several times, as the government needs resources for its interventions to ease the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Roque added that the Palace hopes that the House would transmit its printed copy to the Senate as soon as possible to give the latter “ample time” to act on the legislative measure, which has been certified urgent by the President.
The proposed national budget is 9.9 percent higher than the P4.1-trillion appropriations for 2020 and equivalent to 21.8 percent of the gross domestic product.
A huge portion of next year’s proposed budget will be provided to social services sector amounting to P1.664 trillion, equivalent to 36.9 percent. This includes funding for programs related to health, social protection and education.
The economic services sector will receive the second highest allocation with P1.347 trillion or 29.9 percent while the general public services sector will be allocated with P724.2 billion, debt burden with P560.2 billion, and defense with P210.6 billion.
The top 10 agencies with the highest budget allocations include the Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of National Defense, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture, the Judiciary, and the Department of Labor and Employment./PN
