Gov’t seen to borrow at least P1.189 trillion in 2019 – solon

MANILA – The government is intending to borrow a total of P1.189 trillion from both foreign and local creditors next year.

Compostela Valley representative Maria Carmen Zamora made the pronouncement during her sponsorship speech on House Bill 8169, or the General Appropriations Bill for 2019.

According to Zamora, P282.7 billion, or 24 percent of the P1.189 trillion that government intends to borrow will be sourced from foreign creditors. A total of P906.2 billion or 76 percent, meanwhile, will be sourced domestically.

These borrowed funds will be used for various purposes, Zamora pointed out.

“Of the total borrowings, P624.4 billion will be used to finance the deficit, settle P146.3 billion in maturing debt obligations, and the balance includes contributions to the bond sinking fund, and maintain sufficient cushion of cash in the Treasury,” she said.

The House of Representatives on Sept. 19 began its plenary deliberations on the proposed 2019 national budget amounting to P3.757-trillion after a two-day delay.

Zamora said that in order to finance the expenditure plan for 2019, the national government will be raising P3.208 trillion in revenues.

Of this amount, she said, P3.018 trillion or 94.1 percent will be in the form of taxes.

“The Bureau of Internal Revenue will generate the bulk of this amount with P2.331 trillion, while the rest will be contributed by the Bureau of Customs with P662.2 billion, and  other offices with P25 billion,” she said.

“The balance of 5.9 percent will come from non-tax revenues amounting to P188.3 billion while P2 billion is expected from the sale of government assets,” she added.

The deliberations for the 2019 national budget was also previously stalled after the House opposed the Department of Budget and Management’s proposal of a cash-based budgeting system, as it has caused reductions in the budget proposal for 2019 by about P10 billion compared to this year’s appropriations.

Under a cash-based budgeting system, agencies have only one year with a three-month extension after the fiscal year to settle payments for the goods and services delivered.

But Zamora said the P10-billion difference of the 2018 and 2019 budgets only indicate that the national government intends to spend more, considering the shorter period of one year for agencies to implement and settle payments.

Zamora likewise asked for the support of her colleagues for the early passage of the national budget for next year. (GMA News)

SOURCE: Panay News

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