(Target ng pamahalaan)4% PAGTAAS SA 2023 BUDGET

POSIBLENG ipatupad ng administrasyong Marcos ang “more focused spending” dahil tinitingnan lamang nito ang 4 porsiyentong pagtaas sa budget sa susunod na taon, ayon kay Senador Sonny Angara.

Sinabi ni Angara, chairman ng Senate Committee on Finance, na ang panukala ng Department of agrikultura na triplehin ang budget nito ay “napakahirap.”

“It’s very hard to triple a budget because the proposed 2023 budget, from what I’m hearing from the economic managers, is only 4 percent higher than the 2022 budget, that’s a very small increase compared to previous years,” ayon kay Angara.

“But perhaps you’ll see more focused spending because the President wants to do so many things so the departments have to take their cue and focus on what the President mentioned in his SONA,” dagdag pa niya.

Nang tanungin kung saan kukunin ng gobyerno ang budget para sa mga karagdagang ospital at rural health units na binanggit ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr sa kanyang unang SONA, sinabi ni Angara na may P10 bilyon hanggang P20 bilyong “health facility enhancement fund” bawat taon.

Ang ilang lokal na pamahalaan ay may kakayahang pondohan ang pagpapabuti ng kanilang mga lokal na ospital, dagdag niya.

“Now there’s a new development in local government finance which is the Mandanas doctrine which gives more resources to the health personnel… We can be creative on how we fund the healthcare system.

“Some of the cities are also very healthy, you also have PPPs (public-private partnerships). It’s not only the national go­vernment who is only capable of spending for these things,” sinabi pa ng senador.

LIZA SORIANO