MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law the P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget.
The President signed this year’s spending measure in a ceremony in Malacañang on Monday afternoon.
LOOK: President Rodrigo Duterte signs into law the 2020 national budget @inquirerdotnet pic.twitter.com/lD8VE2cQA0
— Krissy Aguilar (@KAguilarINQ) January 6, 2020
Senator Panfilo Lacson previously questioned the alleged P83-billion “last-minute insertions” made by the House of Representatives in the 2020 budget bill, even saying it lacked clear details and could still be considered “pork barrel.”
This prompted him to send a list of the questionable items to the Office of the President and Department of Budget and Management last month as Duterte scrutinizes the budget bill.
The P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 is the country’s largest to date, larger by 12 percent than the 2019 national budget.
The social services sector accounts for the largest bulk of the budget at P1.495 trillion, or 36.5 percent of the national budget, to fund human capital development programs in education, health, and social protection.
Meanwhile, P1.2 trillion is allotted for economic services, which corresponds to 29.3 percent of the 2020 budget. This is a hefty increase of 23.7 percent over the 2019 budget for the sector.
For infrastructure development, in particular, the Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of Transportation will receive significantly higher allotments this year to accelerate the administration’s infrastructure programs, taking P581.7 billion (25 percent growth) and P100.6 billion (45 percent growth), respectively.