The proposed 2024 national budget will continue to focus on priority sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, health and education, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Monday. In a statement, Pangandaman said these priority sectors are included in the administration’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) which was adopted by Congress. “MTFF, it’s a fiscal consolidation program [that contains] the priority programs and areas which we should support,” she said. ‘We will continue the infrastructure program of the national government, from Build, Build, Build to Build, Better, More, from 5-6 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), now this year, it’s 5.8 percent. So, we’re still working on the 2024 budget, so we need to adhere with that.’ Pangandaman also cited the need to continue prioritizing the budget for the agriculture sector. “We all know that this year, we increased it to about 40 percent because from previous years, it’s like we didn’t give enough investment. Our support to the agriculture sector is so low. But when the pandemic happened, everything closed -our value chains stopped, and it’s important that we have enough food in our country, enough produce,” she said. Aside from these, Pangandaman said the government will also provide support to the health and education sectors, including the upgrading of skills of the country’s workforce. Expenditure priorities for next year are reflected in the 2024 Budget Priorities Framework, which include infrastructure development, food security, digital transformation, enterprise development, human capital development, climate action and disaster resilience, strategic directions in transition to full devolution, and research, development, and innovation.

Source: Philippines News Agency