The Department of Budget and Management on Monday submitted to Congress the proposed P5.02 trillion national budget for 2022 which was crafted to help the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The spending plan is 11.5% higher than P4.51 trillion General Appropriations Act of 2021, and is equivalent to 22.8% of the country's gross domestic product, the DBM said.
"The 2022 NEP is anchored on the priorities of the national government as enshrined in its collective long-term ambition in building a life that is matatag, maginhawa, at panatag for every individual," the DBM added.
The social services sector remains to be the recipient of the biggest chunk of next year's proposed budget with P1.92 trillion, which will fund health-related services and education-related programs. It was followed by the economic services sector with P1.47 trillion to support the flagship programs under "Build, Build, Build."
By department, the education cluster covering the DepEd, State Colleges and Universities, CHED, and TESDA still received the biggest allocation at P773.6 billion, followed by the DPWH and DILG.
The Department of Health, which is at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, placed fourth, with P242 billion.
Here are the top 10 departments with the highest budget allocations for 2022:
- Education (including DepEd, SUCs, CHED, and TESDA) - P773.6 billion
- DPWH - P686.1 billion
- DILG - P250.4 billion
- DOH - P242 billion
- DND - P222 billion
- DSWD - P191.4 billion
- DOTr - P151.3 billion
- DA - P103.5 billion
- Judiciary - P45 billion
- DOLE - P44.9 billion
The submission of the NEP to the House will allow for congressional deliberations on the national budget. The product of these deliberations is the 2022 General Appropriations Act, which provides the government the authority to spend for next year.
House appropriations committee chair Eric Yap said the chamber is set to conduct its first budget hearing on Aug. 26.