00:00 The Congress assured that they have allocated a large allocation in the 2024 National Budget
00:06 to government programs for the agriculture, health and housing sectors.
00:12 The Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez thanked President Ferdinand R. Marquez Jr.
00:18 for his early support of the Pondo.
00:21 This is what Melales Moras wrote.
00:24 The Speaker of the House of Representatives is confident that the Philippines will have a better future
00:31 following President Ferdinand R. Marquez Jr.'s approval of the General Appropriations Act of 2024
00:37 or the 5.768 trillion pesos National Budget for the next year.
00:42 According to House Speaker Martin Romualdez,
00:44 the President's early legislation on the Pondo is a reflection of the country's strength and progress.
00:51 Now that the 2024 budget is finalized, he is confident that the government's programs for agriculture, health, education and infrastructure will continue and will not be halted.
01:03 The first thing that Speaker Romualdez confirmed was that the half trillion pesos of the 2024 budget
01:09 is a gift for our fellow countrymen,
01:12 particularly the various assistance for the 12 million poor and low-income families in the country.
01:18 But aside from that, he is confident that other sectors of society will also have enough funds to invest in their government.
01:27 For Legacy Food Security, he is allocating 5 billion pesos to provide free irrigation for crops,
01:33 to grow rice and other farm inputs,
01:37 and there is an additional 5 billion pesos for the purchase of various farm products.
01:41 The Congress also invested 80 billion pesos in the National Irrigation Authority
01:46 to build more dams, water reservoirs and solar irrigation systems in front of the city of El Nino.
01:53 The health sector was also given by the government a large fund,
01:58 such as the Philippine General Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute,
02:03 Philippine Cancer Center, Philippine Children's Medical Center, Bicol Regional Medical Center and Batangas Regional Medical Center.
02:10 There are also various programs for the household and the West Philippine Sea,
02:15 which were also allocated by the Congress.
02:19 According to the House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chair Len Alonte,
02:22 the use of the government in the 2024 budget will also greatly help the new officials appointed by the President,
02:29 so it will surely be well-funded.
02:32 While the House Committee on Metro Manila Development Vice Chair Joel Chua
02:36 has assured a sufficient safeguard in the national fund for its more effective use.
02:43 The lawmakers are confident that until the implementation of the national fund,
02:47 they will serve the well-being of our countrymen.
02:51 Melales Moras for the nation.
