(Eagle News) — Congress has approved the reconciled version of the government’s national budget for 2018 worth P3.767 trillion, with the biggest allocation granted to education and infrastructure development.
Senator Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on finance, led the signing of the bicameral report on the approved budget.
The report will be transmitted to both the Senate and House of Representatives for ratification before this will be sent to Malacanang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.
This is the second national budget under the Duterte administration. The 2018 budget represents 21.6 percent of the projected gross domestic product for next year and is 12.4 percent higher than the 2017 budget, which is P3.35 trillion, according to a previous Department of Budget and Management (DBM) release.
The budget sets aside funding for the government’s free tuition program, and for the increase in the salaries of policemen and soldiers, as well as for the rehabilitation of Marawi City.
(Eagle News Service)
