President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has certified House Bill 4488 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) as urgent.
House Bill 4488 contained the proposed Php 5.268 trillion national budget for the fiscal year 2023.
In a letter from the Malacañang to House Speaker Martin Romualdez dated Sept. 16, Marcos ordered the “immediate enactment“ of the measure pursuant to the provisions of Article VI Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution.
He said the urgent enactment was to “address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the current fiscal year, strengthen efforts to respond more effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, and support initiatives toward national economic recovery.“
With the measure certified as a priority, it allows the House of Representatives to pass the bill in second and third readings in one day.
“We are right on track with our schedule. The certification from Malacañang will enable the House of Representatives to approve the 2023 GAB on second and third reading on the same day which we set on Wednesday,“ Romualdez said in a Facebook post.
On August 22, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted the proposed national budget to the House of Representatives.
Romualdez earlier said the House is aiming to finish the committee and plenary deliberations on the budget proposal before October 1st.
The Senate committee has also started its budget deliberations last Sept. 13.
