Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
First, I would like to thank the Philippine Embassy, the UK Embassy in the Philippines, MP Richard Graham—and I was told that we have Filipino scholars here in UK and London, welcome! I hope you guys did not skip your class—UBS, and our partners here for hosting us and giving us this opportunity to share updates on the country's robust economic performance and investment opportunities, and on my part, our Priority Expenditures.
Today, we bring you warm greetings from the Philippines and also good news: in spite of global headwinds and the challenges of economic recovery after the pandemic lockdowns, we are on track with our Agenda for Prosperity.
However, we want to ensure that as we pursue our Agenda for Prosperity, our economic transformation is towards inclusivity and sustainability. With that in mind, our priority expenditures support the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and will also cater to the objectives under the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028.
To give you an overview of the Fiscal Year 2023 General Appropriations Act, the National Budget of the Philippines amounts to Php 5.268 trillion or USD 94.82 billion. It is a 4.9 percent increase from 2022, and is 22.2 percent of our GDP.
As we commit to pursuing the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda while targeting growth, the bulk of the proposed budget will go to the Social Services sector, getting an allocation of around Php 2.0 trillion or 38 percent of the national budget.
We have maintained Education as our number one priority, which is also mandated by our Constitution. On top of this, we have given the Health Department one of the biggest increases in the budget, with the commitment to strengthen our healthcare system following lessons from the pandemic, as well as the mandate of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to expand access to affordable and inclusive healthcare nationwide. We are also strengthening social protection with a budget of almost Php 200 billion for the social welfare and development department to ensure that no one is left behind.
We are determined to make agriculture a driving force for growth and the source of our food security. Hence, to improve agricultural productivity and re-establish the Philippines as a top exporter of agricultural products, the agriculture department and its attached agencies received a budgetary boost of more than 40 percent from last year’s budget.
We are also determined to maintain infrastructure spending at 5 to 6 percent of GDP from now until 2028. With this in mind, we are continuing the Build, Build, Build Program of the previous administration, and we will now call it Build, Better, More (BBM). In line with this program, the Department of Public Works and Highways has received the second highest allocation in the budget, equivalent to 16.1 percent. Meanwhile, to improve our transportation system, the Department of Transportation has been given a 40 percent increase from its 2022 budget.
To make the Philippines an investment destination, we need to create an environment that enables economic growth. Hence, we are keen on building not just public and social infrastructure but also digital infrastructure. We are following a Digital Roadmap that will expand and improve our digital infrastructure to strengthen intergovernmental connection and enhance transparency to the public sector.
Acknowledging the importance of sustainable economic growth, the government has also invested heavily in renewable energy infrastructure and alternative resources that will contribute to sustainable development. For 2023, the budget for climate change adaptation and mitigation is significantly higher by around 60 percent from previous year’s allocation.
We are also pursuing legislation for budget reforms that would safeguard the integrity of our budget process. Foremost of which is the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance or the PBBM Governance Bill which seeks to institutionalize key Public Financial Management reforms including the cash budgeting system.
We are striving to build an agile, efficient, and more responsive government workforce through the National Government Rightsizing Program. This will minimize and eliminate overlaps and duplication of functions, and reduce costs, processing time, and other regulatory requirements in government transactions.
We are also pursuing a Green Public Procurement Roadmap wherein the government will procure common-use supplies and equipment items with green specifications.
As you can see, the Philippines is now not just open for business but we mean business.
We not only meet but surpass our economic targets.
We are on track with our Agenda for Prosperity and I am confident that as long as we stay the path, we will also achieve our targets of single-digit poverty levels and upper middle-income class status as planned.
The time to invest in the Philippines is now. We have a hardworking administration, we have high economic growth, we have peace in Mindanao, and most of all, we have sunshine all year-round.
So we look forward to another BBM: the British Building More … in the Philippines.
Thank you so much. Mabuhay. Assalamu alaikum.
