DOF budget, shrinking in the last 3 years, gets House panel OK

The Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives has endorsed the P17.3-billion budget of the Department of Finance and its attached agencies for 2020 — a proposed outlay that decreased for the third straight fiscal year since 2018.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the DOF’s 2020 budget plan is P1.59 billion or 8 percent lower than its 2019 budget of P18.9 billion, which is likewise below the preceding year’s P19.7-billion allocation.

“We will continue to build on our efforts to maintain fiscal stability and to improve our revenue collection performance to achieve inclusive economic growth for our country,” Dominguez said.

Sultan Kudarat Rep. Horacio Suansing, one of the senior vice chairpersons of the House appropriations committee, sponsored the DOF budget at the House plenary.

If automatic appropriations, unprogrammed appropriations and budgetary support for government-owned and -controlled corporations are included, the DOF’s total budget for 2020 amounts to P56 billion.

Among the DOF-attached agencies, the Bureau of Internal Revenue got the largest allocation of P8.5 billion to further improve the agency’s tax administration and enforcement capabilities./TSB