PHILSTAR

The House Committee on Appropriations approved on Friday the proposed P4.5 trillion budget for 2021 after two weeks of budget briefings, a lawmaker confirmed.

House appropriations committee chairman and ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Eric G. Yap told BusinessWorld via Viber that House Bill No. 7727 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) will be for plenary debate next week.

Mr. Yap said no amendments were made to the proposed national budget.

“I would also like to thank the House leadership for their undying support and to everyone who helped the Committee in overcoming the first hurdle of the passage of the 2021 National Budget,” he said.

The budget bill hurdled the committee level even if the hearing for the Presidential Communications Operations Office remained suspended.

“As we have said many times, this year’s budget proceedings are both historic and challenging not only because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but also because of other circumstances that this august chamber is in,” Mr. Yap said.

The education sector, which is composed of the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, will get the lion’s share of the funds with P754.4 billion.

The 2021 budget is 9.9% higher than the P4.1 trillion allocated for this year. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza