(NI DANG SAMSON-GARCIA)

SISIMULAN na ngayong araw (Lunes) ng Senado ang debate sa panukalang P4.1 trillion national budget para sa susunod na taon.

Ayon kay Senate Committee on Finance Chairman Sonny Angara, “on track” pa rin sila sa timetable sa pagtalakay sa proposed budget na target nilang maisumite kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa ikalawa o ikatlong linggo ng Disyembre.

Muling binigyang-diin ni Angara ang kahalagahan ng pagpapasa ng 2020 national budget on time upang walang maging delay sa mga proyekto.

“So critical is the GAA in fact hat because we failed to pass it on time during the previous budget cycle, the country paid a price,” saad ni Angara.

“One adverse impact was a slower GDP growth rate in the first half of the year. Another was that construction and repairs of thousands of classrooms were delayed, as were tuition fees of thousands of government scholars across the country,” dagdag ng senador.

Aminado si Angara na bahagyang nahirapan ang bansa na makamit ang growth target ngayong taon dahil sa naging delay sa approval ng 2019 national budget subalit dahil sa paghahabol sa implementasyon ng mga proyekto, lumago ang ekonomiya ng 6.2% at posibleng umabot ang full-year target sa 6% hanggang 7%.

“The experience has only underscored that for us to maintain our country’s momentum and upward trajectory, we can afford no more delays, especially when public spending can account for up to 20 percent of the entire economy,” diin ni Angara.

Sinabi ni Angara na ang edukasyon pa rin ang may pinakamalaking bahagi ng budget kasabay ng paniniyak na mabibigyan ng sapat na suporta ang Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education at Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.