Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman announced on Friday the government is crafting a P5.768 trillion proposed national budget for next year.

During the 185th Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) meeting press conference, Pangandaman said next year's proposed national budget is "higher by 9.5 percent compared to this year’s budget."

She said the budget will be presented before the Cabinet on July 22 before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will announce it in his State of the Nation Address on July 24.

It can be recalled that the P5.268 trillion 2023 General Appropriation Act (GAA) was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in December 2022.

Pangandaman said "the proposed (FY 2024) national budget will continue to prioritize expenditure items that promote social and economic transformation through infrastructure development, food security, digital transformation, and human capital development."

"Acknowledging the competing demands of government programs against a backdrop of limited resources, we shall ensure that the FY 2024 National Expenditure Program will only include implementation-ready agency proposals," she said. Robina Asido/DMS