MANILA, Philippines — The budget department proposed a P2.606 trillion budget for 2015 during Friday’s Cabinet meeting, 15 percent higher than the 2014 national budget, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
President Benigno S. Aquino III directed the Cabinet to fine-tune the budget assumptions and planning parameters for next year’s budget, he said.
The President convened the Cabinet on Friday for a first-pass review and discussion of the 2015 national budget.
“After the meeting that lasted for more than six hours, the President directed the Cabinet to further fine-tune the budget assumptions and planning parameters so that these may be fully explained and justified at the hearings to be conducted by the Congress,” Coloma said.
Another meeting may be convened before the National Expenditure Program Budget Proposal is approved and finalized, he added.
The expenditure program will be submitted to Congress after the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) late this month.
Among the key expenditures of the 2015 national budget includes Social Protection and Social Services, Job Generation and Economic Expansion, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, and Enabling Environment for Inclusive Development.
Under social protection, the administration is increasing the budget for the conditional cash transfer program from P62.6 billion to P78 billion due to increase in coverage from 4.3 million households to 5 million households based on the National Household Targeting System.
The government is also boosting the allocation for the National Health Insurance Program from P35.3 billion to P37.2 billion. The insurance coverage increases from 14.7 million to 15.4 million, Coloma said.
The 2015 budget also gives additional allocation for basic educational facilities such as classrooms, water and sanitation, from P44.6 billion to P52.7 billion.
To create more jobs, the Aquino government is allotting more money for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build roads and bridges, an increase from P130.4 billion to P186.6 billion.
The budget for tourism infrastructure development was also increased from P14.7 billion to P20 billion, as international tourists increase from 6.8 million to 8.2 million and domestic tourists from 47.7 million to 51.7 million.
The government is also focused on addressing the impact of climate change, as it allotted more budget for DPWH’s flood control and drainage projects, from P34.8 billion to P38.6 billion, according to Coloma. PND
