BATASAN HILLS, Quezon City — With President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Romualdez Marcos Jr. expressing hope that the proposed ₱6.352-trillion national budget for next year will be approved before Christmas, the House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading House Bill 10800, or the General Appropriations Bill, which is the ₱6.352-trillion spending measure of the national government for the next fiscal year.

Prior to its approval, the president had underscored the importance of the spending bill, saying it would fund “crucial projects” designed to “uplift the lives of all Filipinos.”

After two weeks of plenary debates, deliberations were concluded on the budget allocation of the government’s different agencies with a vote of 285-3 favoring the approval of the budget bill.

The House leadership held a caucus with the supermajority coalition of power blocs in the chamber, decided to retain the OVP’s reduced budget, which is ₱1.29 billion lower than Vice President Sara Duterte’s proposed ₱2-billion allocation.

The House appropriations committee led by Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co previously approved the ₱733-million allocation, which closely mirrors the budget allocated to former vice president Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo. The budget includes ₱30 million to account for inflation.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez argued that “it is important for the OVP to still have a budget to be able to continue serving our countrymen” even as he rejected calls from many of his colleagues to either reduce this further, or make it zero.

“Despite (VP Sara’s) absences during budget hearings, the OVP’s continued operation is critical,” Romualdez pointed out in giving credence to the role of the OVP in endorsing requests for assistance to agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Health (DoH) to ensure transparency and prevent any misuse of funds.

The House Speaker’s argument was supported by the consensus of majority of the leaders of political parties under the supermajority coalition, among which are Lakas-CMD headed by the Speaker, the Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, National Unity Party and Party-list Coalition Foundation Incorporated.