DBM: Proposed P5.768-T 2024 budget in final stages of preparation

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is now finalizing the details of the proposed P5.768-trillion budget program for 2024, which it plans to submit to the Congress a week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) —which will be the basis for next year’s General Appropriations Act— will be presented to the Cabinet “tomorrow for their final approval.”

Pangandaman said the 2024 NEP was also presented to Marcos yesterday morning.

“The President said that we have to ensure that the 2024 budget is consistent with what we prioritized this year and the same time with the PDP (Philippine Development Plan),” she said.

Early this month, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revealed that the 2024 budget ceiling is pegged at P5.768 trillion, higher by 9.5% compared to this year’s P5.268 trillion. 

“We’re happy that we are in the final stages of preparation,” Pangandaman said.

“Once approved by the Cabinet, we will already start with the printing of NEP until maybe the SONA. Under the Constitution, we should submit the expenditures program one month after the SONA. On our calendar, we will submit the NEP to the congress one week after the 24th [of July],” she said.

Marcos is set to deliver his second SONA on July 24, 2023.

The Budget chief expressed hopes that the 2024 budget will be approved by the Congress faster than last year as it will be submitted earlier.

“I’m hopeful it should be faster. Last year, we submitted the NEP… it was one week before deadline. Now, one week after SONA isa-submit na namin,” she said.

The proposed national budget for 2024 will continue to prioritize expenditure items that promote social and economic transformation through infrastructure development, food security, digital transformation, and human capital development, the DBCC said.

"Acknowledging the competing demands of government programs against a backdrop of limited resources, we shall ensure that the FY 2024 National Expenditure Program will only include implementation-ready agency proposals," it added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News