Senate approves proposed 2018 national budget

November 29, 2017

The Senate approved the proposed 2018 budget of P3.7 trillion by a vote of 16-0 on Wednesday.

Both Houses of Congress will meet to reconcile their versions of the budget. The House of Representatives approved the proposed 2018 budget last September.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said in an ambush interview before session began that the proposed 2018 budget would have to approved. "We have to finish it today otherwise we might not have enough time to do it," he said.

The education sector received the highest budget allocation with 684.33 billion which includes the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) and its attached agencies at P 561.58 billion, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) at P62.33 billion and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) at P60.42 billion.

Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on finance, said in a statement  the 2018 budget allocated P51 billion to pay for free college education in all of the country's state universities and colleges (SUCs) and other state-run educational institutions, apart from a P10 million fund to “capital outlay and free Wi-Fi in all SUCs.”

DepEd increased the monthly chalk allowance for public school teachers from P2,500 to P5,000 and allocated around P1.820 billion for the program.

The Department of Public Works and Highways received the second largest share with 598.57 billion, “to spur infrastructure spending and herald the so-called Golden Age of Infrastructure.” 

 The third highest allocation went to the Department of Health and its attached corporations with 174.47.43 billion including a P3 billion fund for the universal health coverage and P6.5 billion for the health benefits for government employees.

The Department of Interior and Local Government got a P170.24 billion budget followed by the Department of National Defense with P147.85 billion, the Department of Social Welfare and Development with 139.27 billion.

The Senate allocated P131.628 billion to the Philippine National Police (PNP) next year.  

“We cut the double barrel and Masa Masid of the PNP and Department of Interior and Local Government while Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s budget increased by P1.213 billion,” Legarda said during the plenary.

She noted that the same budget included P50 million for the acquisition of body cameras “to be used by police officers in highly-urbanized areas.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines was allocated P141.860 billion, to complement the AFP Modernization Program.

To prevent any event like the Marawi crisis from happening, the Senate also allocated an additional P100 million intelligence fund for the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and increased AFP intelligence fund to P137.312 million.

Pimentel said the Senate will see if they can increase the base pay of soldiers and pensioners at the same time.

"When you increase the base pay of the active military personnel or officer, you also have to increase the pension of the retired ( personnel) because it is indexed, connected," Pimentel said. "This is not smooth sailing, we have to discuss this."

Pimentel said the Senate "will have to give it our best because January 1 is the target, 2018.:

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the first package of the Duterte administration's tax bill by a vote of 17-1. DMS