Pinirmahan na ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang P5.768-trillion national budget para sa 2024 na niratipikahan ng House at Senate noong December 11, 2023 at mas mataas ng 9.5 percent kumapara sa national budget nitong taon.
“Today, we signed the notional budget, the instrument which tells how the taxes paid by the people will be returned to them. In effect, we are signing the renewal of our annual social contract with taxpayers that what they have paid faithfully will be rebated to them in full,’’ saad ni Marcos.
‘’Although it is teeming with numbers, this budget is more than a spreadsheet of amounts, or a ledger of projects,’’ dagdag niya.
Ayon pa sa Pangulo, ang pagtutuunan ng 2024 budget ay ang mga plano ng gobyerno na sawatain ang kahirapan at labanan ang illiteracy, food security, proteksyon para sa mga mamamayan, magkaroon ng maayos na health care ang bansa, pagkakaroon ng trabaho at negosyo.
Dagdag pa niya, bawat item umano sa budget ay makakatulong upang mapabuti ang buhay at kabuhayan ng mga mamamayan.
‘’Honor the taxpayers who make the budget possible and in doing so we will bring closer to the brighter tomorrow that we aspire— for Bagong Pilipinas that we all envision for our people,’’ sabi ni Marcos.
Kung matatandaan, sinabi ni Senator Sonny Angara – na chairperson ng Senate Committee on Finance – na ang consolidated version ng 2024General Appropriations Bill ay walang confidential at intelligence funds para sa mga non-security agencies.
Sa kabuuan ng proposed budget, sinabi ng senador na nasa P9 billion o 0.02 percent ang in-allocate para sa CIF in 2024.
Ang Department of Budget and Management naman, sinabing ang 2024 budget ay nakapokus sa pagpaprayoridad ng mga expenditures para sa economic growth ng bansa at upang maibsan ang epekto ng inflation.
Nitong nakaraan din, sinabi ng Pangulo na ang kontrobersya sa confidential funds ng Office of the Vice President ay naresolba na.
“Well, that was actually the initiative of the Vice President… I’m not actually talking about the confidential funds and to not insist that they have such confidential fund…So, I think, as far as I’m concerned, it is a settled issue,” sabi ni Marcos.
