Senate Starts Review of 2018 Budget that ‘Reforms and Transforms’

The Senate on Wednesday formally started its review of the proposed P3.767-trillion 2018 national budget which the Administration dubbed as ‘A Budget that Reforms and Transforms”.

Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, presided over the briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) on the 2018 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

“The national budget is the financial blueprint of a nation’s course towards economic development and progress. A prudent and judicious national budget will steadily steer our path closer to our development goals in this millennial age. This is what we will ensure as we review the proposed 2018 national budget,” said Legarda.

In President Rodrigo Duterte’s budget message, he stressed that his administration is driven towards good governance and inclusive development, explaining that the country needs a “more activist Budget to fulfill the longing of our people—not just for reports of economic growth and progress, but for the actual, personal experience of these gains in terms of a better life for all Filipinos—in peaceful and safer communities, with enhanced opportunities for advancement, and supported by convenient, reliable services from their government. Matatag. Maginhawa. Panatag.”

Legarda said that the Senate Committee on Finance will work closely with the country’s economic managers and all government agencies, and consider the citizens’ concerns as it reviews the budget.

“We will ensure that the national budget for next year will continue to be socially inclusive and pro-people, one that addresses our development needs now without compromising the needs of future Filipinos,” Legarda concluded.