DAVAO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020 in a ceremony at the Rizal Hall in Malacañan at 4:12 in the afternoon on January 6.
Duterte signed the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2020 that would finance the national expenditure of the government for the year that includes Duterte’s priority projects and programs among which is the government’s infrastructure projects under the Build, Build, Build program.
Here is the full message of the President during the signing:
” The passage of the 2020 General Appropriations Act is proof that with the invaluable help of both Houses of Congress, this government can effectively work together towards the enactment of key legislative measures that will support our development agenda in the next two and a half years.
Almost 20 percent of our projected GDP for 2020, this year’s 4.1 trillion budget will support our vision of a more peaceful and progressive Philippines – an upper bracket-income country that has already cut poverty rate to just 14 percent and achieved a 7.5 percent GDP growth by 2022.
We will continue to allocate a great portion of our national budget for infrastructure development and social services – programs that will directly touch the lives of our people.
We will spend [36] percent of the budget to fund programs on education, healthcare, housing and social welfare.
We will spend [36] percent of the budget to fund programs on education, healthcare, housing and social welfare.
To further boost our thriving economy, we will likewise invest 29 percent of the budget in infrastructure, tourism, trade, job generation, and agriculture.
We will also allocate 11 percent of the budget for debt servicing, with the ultimate goal of bringing down government debt to just 39 percent of the GDP by 2022.
Let me take this opportunity to thank Congress for supporting this administration’s sound fiscal policies through the continued adoption of the Cash Budgeting System and the full implementation of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program.
I likewise recognize the invaluable contribution of the men and women of the Department of Budget and Management under the leadership of Secretary Avisado for their efforts in crafting this year’s budget.
As we look forward to another productive year for this administration, I ask Congress and our civil society partners, as well as my fellow civil servants in the executive department, to remain driven towards our collective goal of providing a more comfortable life for our people.
Together, let us ensure that every peso in the budget will never be used to support the selfish greed of the few, but spent exclusively for the benefit and service of Filipino taxpayers.”
The signing was witnessed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, House of Representatives Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, Camarines Sur 2nd District Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Jr., and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab.
The Congress submitted the 2020 budget to Malacañan on December 20, 2019 after Duterte certified the spending bill as urgent.
