Duterte to sign 2022 national budget on Thursday
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to sign into law on Thursday the final national budget under his administration, a measure that is crucial in implementing the government's pandemic response and economic recovery measures.
"Tomorrow (Dec. 30), President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is scheduled to sign the 2022 General Appropriations Law... As promised, the president will sign this very important measure before December 31 as I stated yesterday," Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, acting presidential spokesman, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
The proposed ?5.024-trillion national budget for next year was originally scheduled to be signed into law on December 28. The signing ceremony was postponed because the spending bill had to undergo a "review process," Nograles said Tuesday.
Nograles assured the public that the Duterte administration would hasten the rollout of projects under the 2022 budget.
"With the signing of the 2022 national budget... we will implement and fast-track all the programs, projects, and activities in the 2022 national budget within the remaining six months of the term of President Duterte," the Palace official said in Filipino.
"We have to do this because we have an election ban. We have to already implement them before the election ban so our countrymen could feel the programs and projects in that national budget," he added.
The election ban on public works will be enforced from March 25 to May 8.
Nograles recently described the proposed outlay as "vital" in supporting the Philippines' COVID-19 resilience initiatives and sustaining its socioeconomic recovery efforts. The measure was ratified by both houses of Congress last Dec. 15.
Key items in the 2022 spending bill include the P50-billion funding for COVID-19 vaccines and P22.99-billion for health facilities.
The proposed budget for next year is 11.5% higher than the P4.506-trillion outlay for 2021.
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