Press Release
December 7, 2008

Zubiri: Senate to Pass the 2009 Budget this week

"The Senate will pass the proposed 2009 budget this week with marathon session today to finish debates on remaining agencies. We will hopefully approve the budget on Second and Third Reading tomorrow after just a total of five days marathon sessions," Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

"Although there are only a few agencies left, since those are major infrastructure agencies - such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Agriculture, we expect prolonged debate. We also expect debates on the budgets of the Department of Energy and the Ombudsman as deliberations were suspended last week."

Agencies whose budgets are still lined up for deliberations include the Departments of Agriculture, Public Works and Highways, Environment and Natural Resources, Social Welfare and Development and Budget and Management. Meanwhile, deliberations will continue on the budgets of the Department of Energy, National Security Council, the Ombudsman, National Power Corporation and on some Special Purpose Funds.

"We will propose amendments to make this budget more relevant to the global economic meltdown. We will provide budget to cushion the impact of a slowing world economy. We will throw a lifeline to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who might loose their jobs abroad by allocating funds for retraining and retooling them so that they could seek new employment."

"We are also increasing the funds on hunger-mitigation and nutrition programs as we expect many poor families to have much less money to spend for food. We will also increase the budget for infrastructure projects that would create jobs and pump-prime the economy, and increase support services to the agricultural sector, especially in agrarian reform communities."

Zubiri further says, "this would be the first time in recent years that Congress will pass the budget this early and approve the Bicameral Conference Report before the Christmas break on December 19. We will have the 2009 General Appropriations Act before the year ends."

"I thank my colleagues for their cooperation in expediting the passage of the budget and for their incisive interpellations and comments to temper government spending and bring transparency and efficiency to our expenditure programs," Zubiri says.

News Latest News Feed