SPEAKER’S PRELIMINARY REMARKS- COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS (DEVELOPMENT BUDGET COORDINATION COMMITTEE (DBCC)

26 August 2022, Plenary Hall

Hon. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez

Speaker, House of Representatives

Honorable Chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations,

Representative Zaldy Co; the Senior Vice Chair, Representative Stella Quimbo; Esteemed Members of the Committee, Honorable Members of this August chamber, ladies and gentlemen, a blessed morning to all.

It is indeed my honor and pleasure to be with you today as we mark the first formal meeting of the Committee on Appropriations for the BUDGET

PRESENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT BUDGET COORDINATION COMMITTEE (DBCC).

First of all, allow me to welcome and thank you all for your precious time in attending this meeting and we are deeply honored to have our distinguished guests and resource persons, the Honorable Secretaries of the DBCC composed of the following:

- Secretary Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Finance;

- Secretary Amenah Pangandaman of the Department of Budget and Management; and

- Director Genereal Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority - Gov. Felipe Medalla of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

I am deeply grateful to all of you, my dear colleagues, in particular, to the distinguished Chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations, the Honorable Zaldy Co, and to the members of the Committee on Appropriations for acting with dispatch to immediately consider the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023.

Because of the mid-year assumption by this new administration, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., His Excellency, the President as exercised the limits provided to him by the Constitution to submit within 30 days from the opening of each regular session of Congress as the basis for the preparation of the General Appropriations Act, a national government budget estimated receipts based on existing and proposed revenue measures, and of estimated expenditures. The time limitations enable the President to review and to incorporate the 8-point socio-economic agenda in the Fiscal Year 2023 proposed budget prepared by the previous administration. To guarantee a sustained growth track for transformation, the President brought a highly qualified and well-prepared economic team.

In the performance of our Constitutional mandate to scrutinize the national budget, I encourage every member of this August Chamber to actively participate in crafting a General Appropriations Bill that addresses the 8-point economic agenda stipulated in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) of this administration. Foremost is to ensure food security by pouring in precise intervention to increase food production and reduce cost, in addition to lowering transport, logistics, and energy cost to protect the purchasing power of the consumers.

This P5.28 Trillion budget is a conservative budget, where fiscal discipline is harmonized with growth and recovery from the impact of the lingering Covid-19 pandemic. The challenges ahead of us may be daunting, and we shall rely on the brilliance of this administration's economic team to usher us in sustaining the economic progress achieved by its predecessor.

We will make sure that each bit of spending will contribute to our goal of reigniting the fires of our economic forges, and at least propel the country to reach economic growth at pre-pandemic levels.

Every centavo of this national budget will be spent wisely to

implement projects and programs putting primordial consideration into saving lives; building and protecting communities; and making our economy strong and more agile.

I am confident with the leadership of the Committee on Appropriations and the overwhelming support of its members, that we shall be able to pass this budget expeditiously without sacrificing the independence of the House of Representatives.

The passage of the 2023 National Budget will be open and transparent.

This will be a product of the entire House of Representatives where

the majority will listen to the various government agencies and instrumentalities, and to the concerns of our friends from the minority bloc. In a manner of speaking, this will be the ‘Unity National Budget’ because we get a wide-ranging and all-encompassing

consensus on our spending plan.

Let's buckle down to work, and with a united front, we shall be able to deliver the necessary tools and resources to improve the lives of the Filipino people and uplift their hope for a better quality of life.

May I now turn you over to Chairperson Co to proceed with the meeting.

Thank you, I wish you all a pleasant and productive day.