President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2017, which increases the national budget to P3.35 trillion, 11.6% higher than this year’s budget.
The GAA, or Republic Act No. 10924, was signed on December 22 and anchored on the 10-point economic agenda of the current administration.
Garnering the highest budget out of all the executive departments is the Department of Education with P544.109 billion. The money will be used to provide and maintain basic education facilities, create teaching and non-teaching positions, and develop and provide learning resources for the more than 20 million students in the country.
With public infrastructure as a top priority, the 2017 budget provides the Department of Public Works and Highways with P454.7 billion and the Department of Transportation with P53.3 billion, increasing their budgets by 18.3% and 25%, respectively, compared to their 2016 allocations.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the sizeable increase in both agencies’ budgets—along with more than P850 billion in allocation for building road networks in cities and provinces, school buildings, hospitals, transport infrastructure, and many other public works—will raise productivity, generate jobs, and attract investments. The funding will also facilitate the conduct of business and improve the mobility of people and accessibility of basic services, the budget department added.
To empower local government units, close to half a trillion (P486.9 billion) was set aside for Internal Revenue Allotment, as well as for additional transfers such as the Local Government Support Fund.
The Department of Interior and Local Government got a budget of P148 billion so it can assist in the country’s efforts against illegal drugs, construct new jail facilities, and increase the allowance for prisoners.
To improve peace and order in the country, the Department of National Defense was given P137.2 billion for territorial defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, and security and stability services.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development is granted a budget of P128.3 billion, a significant portion of which is to fund the conditional cash transfer program and monthly rice subsidy for impoverished households.
Deserving Filipinos, meanwhile, will be given access to tertiary education through the P58.72 billion allocation for state universities and colleges and the P18.7 billion allocation for the Commission on Higher Education.
The Department of Health is given a sizeable share of P96.3 billion to provide the marginalized sector with new and modernized health facilities and expanded health services.
As for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, it is being handed P53.22 billion to fund the universal healthcare program that will address the people’s need for quality health service.
DBM said that with the National Irrigation Authority’s budget of P38.4 billion for 2017, farmers will no longer have to pay irrigation fees, as these will be shouldered by the agency.
A budget of P45.2 billion goes to the Department of Agriculture, while the Department of Agrarian Reform is provided with P9.8 billion. The two departments will intensify their support to agrarian reform communities and non-ARC, and redistribute agricultural lands to farmers.
The government will also extend crop insurance to 1.3 million subsistence farmers and fisherfolk to minimize damages from typhoons and other natural calamities. Programs for climate change adaptation, improvement of harvest productivity, research and development, market development, and construction of farm-to-market roads will be funded to improve the lives of farmers.
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