House approves 2023 DOF budget

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno thanked the House of Representatives for the careful deliberation and swift approval of the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget of the Department of Finance (DOF).

“Many thanks to the Committee on Appropriations and our legislators for their careful deliberation of our budget. This will allow us to modernize our main revenue agencies and push for key economic reforms for robust and inclusive growth,” said Secretary Diokno.

The DOF proposed a total budget of P30.57 billion for FY 2023. This is 14.34 percent higher than the agency’s 2022 budget at P26.7 billion.

Under the DOF’s proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP), the three revenue-generating bureaus will receive the highest budget allocation. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has a P13.1 billion appropriation, followed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at P6 billion, and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) at P4.2 billion.

Among the priorities of the Department is the improvement of tax administration through the digitalization of the core functions and services of the BIR and the BOC.

The DOF’s proposed budget of P3.56 billion for ICT programs and initiatives is equivalent to 29 percent of the 2023 national government’s expenditure program for digitalization.

Secretary Diokno and other DOF officials attended the plenary deliberation for House Bill 4488 or the 2023 General Appropriations Bill on Wednesday, September 28, where the DOF budget was deliberated.

After the period of interpellation, legislators from the minority and majority jointly motioned to approve the DOF’s proposed budget, which includes the budget for its attached agencies and corporations.

The Senate is scheduled to deliberate the agency’s budget in plenary on October 3.