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e4E TH U RSDAY Augus t 22, 201s
TheCTow-pateoFgovernmen-tsptAdlnf;tS-nOwacFnowl-
edged as the key cause of decelerating economic expansion
through the first half of th eyea\ and again, it was entirely
due to Congress' failure to pass the budget on time. This

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cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstances,
but especially riot witti the 2020 budget, the largest in the
nation's historf, It will fund several key progfams that, if
not begtin on time and according to plan, might
Budget passage mu stb chaos beyond a mere economic slowdown.
cause

The 2020 National Expenditure Program contains the

Cong ress' fi rst priority first substantial budget for the Universat Health Care pro-
gram, allocating Pl66.5 billion to be funded largely by
h T OW that the zl2lNational Expenditure'Program, excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol. The House just this,
I \l the administration's proposed P4. t-trillion budget
week approved measures to increase those taxes.
.L X for next ye4r, has been handed over to the House ,
Of the total budget, P108.8 billion h:a$ been proposed
of Representatives, it is timely to iemind members of both
houses of Congress that the country will have very little
for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipirio program, oi 4Ps,
which represents a signihcant inci.tt. iod expansion'of
tolerance for a repeat of last year's unnecessary impasse.
the conditional family subsidy scheme.
To avoid another near-disastrous outcome,,the blame for
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindan-
which will again fall squarely at the feet of the leg-.
- -
islature, the 2020 budget b,ilt musi be passed on time, io
ao has been allocated P70.6 billion, which is consideredvital.
to helping the new rbgional administration establish itself.
the exclusion'of other work, if necessary
The 2020 budget also sets aside P10 billion for the Rice
To recall, the 2019 budget was delayed due to what
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. This program, which
amounted to a turf war between the Houie and Sena.te over.
began this year with about half of the specified funds, is
certain items that had been inserred in the budget during
the course of deliberations over ir. The p3.Z-trillion GenI to be funded from customs duties on imported rice, and
is intended to offset any harm to farmeri caused by the
eral Appropriations Act for 2019 shouid have been passed
liberalization of rice imports.
before the year-end holiday in December, but insteid *.t The proposed budget will also provide funding for an en-
not finally approved and passed along for the president's
signature until mid-April this year.
tirely new government agency, the Department of Human
Settlements and Urban Development, which is allotted
Ordinary administrative and transmittal procedures
P641.6 million. The new department is expected to help
along with the midterm elections further deliyed the ac-
solve a number of chronic problems, including the critical
tual implementation of the budget until the latter part of
Mat meaning the government was forced to operlte on shortage of affordable housing and the slow provision of
housing rilief for families displaced by calamities.
2018's reenacted budget for five months, reducing planned
Congressional representatives have so far offered reassur-
government dpending by nearly 90 percent. nciiding to
ances that they are aware of the implications of a delayed
the Department of Finance, it has only been this month,
budget, and that they will act quickly to apply the propei
August, that the pace of government spending has returned
deliberative process and pass the 2020 outlay. That of course
to normal, making it very unlikely that it will be able to
is exactly what the legislators are a(pected to say, and q, no
spend quickly enough in the remainder of the year to make
up for the lost time. ' basis for judgment; praise if wananted, will only be eadtid
by their actions towardpassing a sound budgel on time.

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