Publish Date : 10-Jul-2015
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday said they are gearing up for the government’s 2016 spending plan, which is double the Aquino administration’s P1.541-trillion budget in 2010, following the approval of the P3.002-trillion proposed national budget by President Benigno S. Aquino III and the members of the Cabinet, Monday.
The proposed budget for 2016 which is 15.2 percent higher than the P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget is the Aquino administration’s blueprint for greater inclusive growth and reform expansion in the country.
“With this proposed budget, we can build on our reform successes over the last five years, as well as take on the challenges in our bid for inclusive development. This is a sizeable budget proposal however, so our focus now is to help our agencies make optimal use of their allocations. This includes enhancing their capacities for budget planning, procurement, and project implementation, all of which are key to the prompt delivery of public services and the continuing growth of our economy,” Budget Secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad said.
“Overall, the proposed 2016 Budget will play an instrumental role in empowering our citizens, be it through antipoverty programs, our good governance campaign, or our broader socio-economic development strategy. In proposing this budget, we continue to hew to the principle of ‘Daang Matuwid’, where leadership is fully expressed as transparent, accountable, and participatory,” Abad added.
Based on the Budget Priorities Framework for 2016, programs and projects that support the Aquino Administration’s goal of rapid, inclusive, and sustainable growth were given high importance in the proposed budget. These include programs and projects that focus on basic education, road and transport infrastructure, territorial defense, peace and order, health and social protection, food security and environmental integrity, and the improvement of the country’s business climate.
Likewise, government expenditures under the proposed budget is expected to increase to 19.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This is a larger share of the economy than the 2015 and 2010 budgets, which respectively comprised 18.7 percent and 16.4 percent of GDP.
Personnel Services will continue to corner the largest share of this budget with 27.6 percent, followed by Infrastructure and other Capital Outlays with 21.8 percent. Meanwhile, Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) will have a share of 17.1 percent.
A quarter of the proposed budget (almost 28 percent or P837.9 billion) will be shared between the departments of Education (DepEd) and Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The DepEd will receive a budget of P436.5 billion, while the DPWH will receive P401.4 billion, an increase of 15.6 percent and 32.0 percent, respectively.
The proposed budget also has fiscal space amounting to P580.9 billion, which will be allocated for new programs or projects and the expansion of existing projects for 2016. This is double the fiscal space in the 2015 National Budget of P287.3 billion.
“We’ve shown that in the last five years, good governance—especially in the management of public funds—leads to better government performance and real benefits for our people. As such, the proposed 2016 National Budget will continue to support good governance beyond 2016 to create sustainable prosperity for all,” Abad said.(DBM)
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