Press Release
October 16, 2012

House version of 2013 budget reaches Senate today, says Drilon

Senator Franklin M. Drilon vowed to scrutinize the House of Representatives' version of P2.006-trillion 2013 national budget which reached the Senate today.

"We will dissect every detail of the submitted budget as we are doing in the last two years to ensure that the budget is reflective of the needs of the people and promotes inclusive growth and development," said Drilon, who chairs the Committee on Finance that reviews the country's expenditure program.

"I am committed to ensuring that every peso the government plans to spend will be meaningful to the people, for it will address their needs," he added.

He also said the budget will officially reach the Senate floor for debates by the second week of November as the Committee on Finance is set to wrap up its hearings on the individual budgets of departments before the Senate takes a short break.

"We, as legislators, are duty-bound to pass on time this very important piece of legislation. Even if there are still pending measures before the Senate, the budget shall not be put aside," stressed Drilon.

"We will not allow any delay in the approval of the budget. We are committed to pass the budget on time in order to enable the government to implement its crucial projects and programs especially infrastructure at the start of the year to take advantage of good weather in the early months," said Drilon.

"A delayed budget approval translates to a delayed service for the people, especially the poor and marginalized sector in the society," he added.

Drilon also said the budget will be submitted to the Executive by the second week of December to give the President enough time to review the budget.

News Latest News Feed