DBM identifies priority sectors for budget allocation 

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the Marcos administration’s spending will remain focused on infrastructure, agriculture, health, and education until next year, according to a report by Manila Bulletin.

In a statement, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said Monday, June 5, that the proposed 2024 national budget will still focus on sectors prioritized in this year’s budget

"When we started the administration, we have our Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), which the Congress adopted. This MTFF, it’s a fiscal consolidation program wherein it listed priority programs and areas which we should support,” Pangandaman said.

Aligned with  President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. administration's 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the government will continue to prioritize expenditure items that will steer the economy back on a high growth path.

“We will continue the infrastructure program of the national government, from Build, Build, Build to Build, Better, More, from five to six percent of GDP [gross domestic product], now this year, it's 5.8 percent,” Pangandaman said.

“So we’re still working on the 2024 budget, so we need to adhere to that,” she added.

The budget chief also emphasized the need to continue prioritizing the budget for the agriculture sector, considering the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We all know that this year, we increased it to about 40 percent from previous years because we didn’t give enough investment. Our support for agriculture has always been very low,” Pangandaman said.

“But when the pandemic happened, everything was closed — our value chains stopped, and it’s important that we have enough food in our country, enough produce," she said.

Pangandaman added that support will likewise be given to the health and education sectors, including the upgrading of skills of the country's workforce.

Expenditure priorities for next year are reflected in the 2024 Budget Priorities Framework, which includes infrastructure development, food security, digital transformation, enterprise development, and human capital development.

It also covers climate action and disaster resilience, strategic directions in transition to full devolution, and research, development, and innovation.