MANILA— The House of Representatives is set to begin plenary deliberations on the 2022 national budget next week.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Eric Go Yap said that the plenary deliberations on the budget will begin on September 21.
During plenary deliberations on the annual budget, the House will schedule marathon plenary sessions that begin in the mornings instead of the usual afternoon plenary sessions.
Yap told media that the committee has not made any amendments to the 2022 National Expenditure Program of President Rodrigo Duterte.
"Sa committee wala pong amendments. Depende naman po sa deliberation ng plenary kung magkaka amendments po," he said.
(At the commitee level there are no amendments. That's up to plenary deliberations.)
The panel terminated budget deliberations of individual government agencies Thursday.
Yap said the panel will submit a committee report, which will allow them to ask Duterte to certify the bill as urgent so the House could give final approval before the end of the month.
Congress will go on a break from October 1 to November 7 to give way to the filing of candidacies for the 2022 National and Local Elections.
A presidential certification allows Congress to forego the three-day requirement between approval on second and third reading.
"After ng committee report, mag-formal request po ako ng ma-certify urgent 'yung budget sa (Office of the President) para Sept. 30 umabot po sa third reading," he said.
(After the committee report, i will make a formal request to the Office of the President so the budget bill can be certified as urgent so that by Sept. 30, it will be on third reading.)
House Bill No. 10153, or the 2022 General Appropriations Bill, was filed on September 7.
2022 National Budget, General Appropriations Act, National Expenditure Program, budget hearing, Eric Go Yap, House Appropriations Committee, 2022 budget, GAA, NEP