PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte plans to submit to Congress the administration's P3.767 trillion proposed budget for 2018 at the start of 17th Congress' second regular session on July 24, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Friday.
The President is set to deliver his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) at 4 p.m. on the same day.
"The President plans to submit the budget on the day of Sona itself. So that's a first time in Philippine history. Why are we doing this? So we can have an early start for 2018," Diokno said at the press conference held in MalacaƱang.
Diokno said the biggest budgetary allocation for next year would be channeled to education and infrastructure development.
"Now, this project is consistent with President Duterte's 'Build, Build, Build' program to usher in the golden age of infrastructure in the Philippines and his desire to develop the Filipino youth into an agile, competent workforce for the future," the Budget chief said.
The second national budget under the Duterte administration is 12.4 percent higher than the 2017 budget amounting to P3.35 trillion.
The top 10 departments that will receive huge chunks of the budget are the Department of Education (P691 billion), Department of Public Works and Highways (P643.3 billion), Department of Interior and Local Government (P172.3 billion), Department of Health (P164.3 billion), Department of National Defense (P145 billion), Department of Social Welfare and Development (P138 billion), Department of Transportation (P73.8 billion), Department of Agriculture (P54.2 billion), Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (P33.5 billion), and Department of National Environment and Resources (P27.9 billion).
On the education sector, P613.05 billion will go to DepEd, while Commission on Higher Education and the state universities and colleges will receive P13.5 billion and P64.6 billion, respectively.
The respective hefty budgets of DPWH and DOTr will be spent for the ambitious infrastructure program, "Build, Build, Build," to improve mobility and connectivity across the entire country, and provide modern, comfortable, and affordable public transportation system to all.
As for budget allocation according to sector, social services will be the biggest recipient of the 2018 budget, with P1.45 trillion, or 38.5 percent of the proposed budget.
The economic services sector, on the other hand, comes second getting a fund of P1.15 trillion, 30.6 percent of the proposed budget. (SunStar Philippines)