THE Senate will hold independent review of the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for next year and provide necessary corrections for alleged spending changes favoring politically driven assistance programs, a senator said on Tuesday.
The House of Representatives approved the General Appropriations Bill on Oct. 12, but the Senate Finance Committee has not yet received it, Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito said in a statement.
Whole-day budget hearings will be held in the Senate starting Oct. 16. Senate President Sherwin T. Gatchalian said the chamber is targeting to sponsor the budget by Nov. 9.
Mr. Ejercito, who chairs the committee, acknowledged the concerns of budget watchdogs and civil society groups over the national budget’s focus on financial assistance and local projects. “These are serious questions that deserve serious scrutiny, to determine if the allocation of funds is correct,” he said.
He promised the committee would hold a one-to-two-day briefing with civil society organizations and budget watchdogs before preparing its report. All red flags in the budget will also be raised to the relevant agencies, he added.
Unjust reallocations and low budgets for vital government programs must be corrected in the Senate version of the 2027 General Appropriations Bill, he concluded. — Francessca S. Abalos