MANILA: Philippines is putting together the proposed national budget for 2014, which it estimates would be about P2.27 trillion.
Next year’s budget would be President Aquino’s second spending programme exceeding P2 trillion.
In a “budget call” memorandum, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad gave heads of departments and other agencies until April 15 to submit their budget proposals.
He informed them of the macro-economic assumptions that would guide the Palace in drafting the 2014 spending programme, which Aquino will submit to the next Congress when it convenes in July.
At the same time, Abad set “budget ceilings” for agencies so that their proposals would be within the total projected spending limit. “The fiscal position for 2014 translates to an obligation (spending) budget ceiling of P2.268 trillion, up by P262.1 billion or 13.1 percent more than the 2013 budget level of P2.006 trillion,” he said.
In 2012, the national budget amounted to P1.816 trillion.
Abad said the additional P262.1 billion to be spent next year would go to “increased investments in infrastructure, in good governance and anti-corruption, in building human capabilities especially of the poor, through quality education, public health care and housing, and in climate change adaptation measures — all fundamental requirements for the country’s competitiveness and development.”
The planned obligation or expenditure level is based on a gross national product growth of 5.8 percent to 6.8 percent, expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent, inflation rate of 3 percent to 5 percent, and an exchange rate of P42-P45 to one US dollar.
Last year, the economy grew by a surprising 6.6 percent.
“The growth in the domestic economy as adjusted for inflation is projected to be at 6-7 percent in 2013 and 6.5-7.5 percent in 2014,” Abad said. Agriculture is expected to grow by 3.3-4.3 percent, industry by 7.4-8.6 percent, stronger than the 6.6-7.6-percent projection this year, and services by 6.5-7.4 percent, he said.
“The positive outlook for the domestic economy, as well as continued structural reforms, could direct more capital inflows to the country, which, along with the steady stream of remittances, could drive further the appreciation of the peso,” he added.
The exchange rate has been steady for months at less than P42 to $1.
The Philippine Star
