For P5.024-trillion national budget for 2022, health services, infrastructure and education-related programs got the biggest share of the as the government prioritized efforts that will focus on Covid-19 response and resiliency.
The 2022 proposed national budget to be approved, the last under the Duterte administration was signed by the Chief Executive in a ceremony in Malacañang attended by members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In his speech, Duterte said the passage of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) will cement this administration’s legacy of real change for future generations guided by the three main pillars of building resiliency amidst the pandemic, sustaining the momentum toward recovery, and continuing the legacy of infrastructure development.Duterte highlighted that the passage of the GAA “reflects the healthy collaboration among all branches of government which is crucial to the attainment of our National Development Goals, especially during these trying times.”
The President, however, expressed concern over the looming threat of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, saying the 2022 budget could lose “elbow room” due to the virus.
The GAA was ratified by Congress on December 15, a day before Typhoon “Odette” ravaged parts of the Visayas and Mindanao. The budget is 10 percent bigger than this year’s GAA, and is equivalent to 21.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The education sector — which covers the Department of Education, state universities and colleges, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority — has been allocated P788.5 billion, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The Department of Public Works and Highways, which had the biggest slice of the 2021 budget, got P786.6 billion for next year.
The Department of Health and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., or PhilHealth, despite being in the vanguard of the fight against the pandemic, got only the third biggest share of P268.4 billion.
Nonetheless, the DBM said the budget will ensure affordable and accessible health care by earmarking P88 billion for the National Health Insurance Program.
The allocation will be used to subsidize the health insurance premiums of 13.2 million indigent families and 7.3 million senior citizens. The Health Facilities Operations Program will receive P56.3 billion and P32.6 billion was allocated for the procurement of drugs, medicines and vaccines.
P17 billion will go to the salaries and benefits of public health personnel, and P51 billion to the Special Risk Allowance of Health Workers. P48.2 billion will be set aside to buy Covid-19 booster shots. P983 million will go to the establishment of the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines that will help the government study and address novel, emerging and re-emerging viruses.
The Philippine Genomic Information Resource Hub was allocated P200 million. The government allotted P26.5 billion for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program and Government Internship Program, and P52.7 million to the Reintegration Services Program.
Social protection programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (P107.7 billion), Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances (P18 billion), and Sustainable Livelihood Program (P4.7 billion) are also supported to safeguard the poor and the vulnerable.
Priority education programs such as the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan will receive P14.7 billion to cover the development, reproduction, and delivery of learning modules, and P11.8 billion will go to the Computerization Program to cover the procurement of equipment.
P1.5 billion will go to the National Broadband Plan and P4.8 billion for the rollout of the Philippine Identification System.
The 2022 GAA also allocated funds for the Network Development Program (P127 billion), Flood Management Program (P129 billion), Rail Transport Program (P23.1 billion) and the Land Public Transportation Program (P16 billion).
House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco also thanked the President for signing into law the 2022 budget and for extending the availability of the 2021 appropriations to the end of 2022.
With additional reports: Manila Times, Catherine Valente
Image Sources: philstar.com, dpwh.gov.ph, officialgazeete.gov.ph, cnnphilippines.com, pna.gov.ph, newsinfo.inquirer.net
