The Aquino administration has ensured that its five priority areas will be funded accordingly this year through the allocation of P438.8 billion for the economic sector.
Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said the 2012 budget for the economic sector accounts for 24.2 percent of this year’s P1.816 trillion national budget.
He said the economic sector budget would be used for the government’s job generation and economic development as well as support growth drivers sectors such as semi-conductor and electronics, business process outsourcing, tourism development, agriculture and fisheries development; and general infrastructure.
Of the total economic sector budget for this year, P182.2 billion was allocated for the infrastructure program, which was hiked by 25.6 percent year-on-year and accounts for 1.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Abad said the government’s public-private partnerships (PPP) program will be provided with P22.1 billion “to elicit the entry of private capital in critical infrastructure and other projects.”
He said that the President’s Social Contract to the Filipino People “is well reflected in this year’s national budget.
“We started laying out the reforms this year. However, for the 2012 budget, we will strengthen the foundation and put in place more projects to curb corruption and promote economic development. This direction is expected to benefit the poor and the vulnerable sectors,” he said.
Abad said this year’s economic sector budget would also provide P6.2 billion to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) National Rice Program, which is aimed at ensuring rice sufficiency by 2013.