As the Philippines prepares and transitions into a new administration during the second half of next year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is proposing a budget of more than P7 billion in 2016 in order to maintain the country’s macroeconomic stability before and after the presidential election.
At the Senate hearing on NEDA’s proposed 2016 budget on Monday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said NEDA and its attached agencies will require a total budget of P7.06 billion for next year.
"Moving into the next fiscal year, we expect to confront new challenges and we are thus preparing ourselves accordingly,” Balisacan, who is also the Director-General of NEDA, said.
"In an election period and transition into a new administration, we need to preserve and sustain the gains achieved so far by ensuring macroeconomic stability, enriching the reforms we have started, and sharpening strategies for inclusive growth as we begin to prepare the successor development plans and investment programs,” he added.
The largest allocation from the proposed budget will go to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), a NEDA-attached agency that is primarily responsible for all national censuses, surveys and sectoral statistics, consolidation of selected administrative recording systems and compilation of national accounts.
For next year, PSA will get a total budget of P3.42 billion, which is lower than the P5.04-billion budget allotted for it this year.
Next to PSA is Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, which will receive a P2.13 billion budget, representing an increase of P2.034 billion from its P91.5 million budget for this year.
PPP Center coordinates and monitors all PPP-related programs and projects in the country.
"Bulk of the increase is attributed to the P2-billion fund for the PDMF [Project Development and Monitoring Facility] which shall be used in providing funding to the increasing demand for technical assistance for development of PPP projects,” Balisacan said.
Next attached agency to get the biggest portion of the budget is NEDA’s research and technical arm, Secretariat.
The Secretariat conducts studies and develops policy measures and other recommendations on the various aspects of development planning and policy formulation, investment programming.
For next year, this NEDA attached agency will have a budget of P1.3 billion.
Meanwhile, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) will have a budget of P73.672 million, while Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) will have P22.609 million.
Tariff Commission, on the other hand, will get a portion of 61.688 million.
On average, there is 8.82-percent increase in the budget for the entire NEDA department.
Balisacan said that the agency’s proposed budget will be anchored on different priorities or Major Final Outputs (MFO) such as socioeconomic and physical planning and policy services and technical support advisory services.
Under the one of the MFOs, NEDA wants to advocate the adoption of a long-term vision as basis for formulation of medium-term development plans and programs until 2040.
"Please note that we are already more than half-way into the process of this visioning exercise,” Balisacan said.
The agency is also eager to promote the National Physical Framework Plan (NPFP) as well as coordinate the preparation of post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation plans as may be necessary.
In another MFO, NEDA is also planning to conduct various studies that will provide timely economic reports and render policy advice to the President, the NEDA Board and its committees, and regional development committees on the impact of domestic and global developments.//
