I.

Reflection

The term budget refers to estimating revenue and expenses over a specified future

period and is usually compiled and re-evaluated periodically. Budgets can be made for

any entity that wants to spend money, including governments, businesses, people, and

households at any income level (Ganti, 2023). Creating a national budget would be quite

a long process and needs a lot of considerations to take into.

The National Budget proposed for fiscal year 2024 was Php 5.768 trillion which

intends to continue the economic transformation achieved under the fiscal year 2023

National Budget and further push the Agenda for Prosperity to achieve a future-proof and

sustainable economy. The main highlights of our 2024 national budget are: 9.5% higher

than the 2023 national budget; it corresponds to 21.7% of the country’s gross domestic

product; it continues to prioritize social services with 37.9% and it sustains infrastructure

development the infrastructure program amounting to 5.3% of country’s gross domestic

product.

The Php 5.768 trillion is allocated to different programs and activities of the

government, it also apportions to the country's debt interest. The spending priorities of

our national budget would go into food security, infrastructure development, education,

health and nutrition, social protection, workforce protection and industry development,

digitalization and innovation, good governance, environment, climate adaptation, and

disaster resilience.

As I reflect on these facts, I can say that the government is taking steps for people’s

welfare as well as for our country. They see to it that people's most immediate and

pressing needs are not being left out. The 2024 national budget would give us a clear

picture and flow of every peso and how it is being optimized to continue being an inclusive

and sustainable economy. The proposed national budget aims to achieve socioeconomic

development goals as outlined in the PDP 2023-2028.

The 2024 National Budget of the Philippines has been designed to

continuously support the economic transformation. It seeks to uphold the Agenda

for Prosperity which aims to achieve a future-proof and sustainable economy. Here

are my insights about the 2024 National Budget:

First is the budget size, the suggested PHP 5.768 trillion national budget for

2024 represents a 9.5% increase over the previous year's budget which is Php

5.268 trillion only. At about 21.7 percent of the GDP of the nation, this constitutes

a sizeable share of it.

The budget priorities. The government is still giving priority to spending

projects that will direct the economy toward a high-growth path, with infrastructure

receiving special attention. A detailed distribution of every peso was indicated and

to where it will be allocated. The national budget for 2024 provides a clear

roadmap for advancing the country's economic development. It entails making

investments across a range of industries to boost GDP, generate employment, and

enhance the general welfare of Filipinos.

The process of making the National Budget was a complex one. It must be

carefully crafted, sectors that are priorities are identified, and there are programs

or projects with bigger allocations. It shows a detailed flow of every amount of peso

to where it will be utilized.

The National Budget must undergo the necessary legislative process and

must be signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to ensure its

implementation and timely execution. Thus, the sectors that are allocated with

funds need to provide liquidations of where they have spent the allocated funds

they have.
III. Recommendations

As the 2024 National Budget was approved, provide that it has been

designed to continuously steer the country toward the promised future of an

inclusive and sustainable economy where no Filipino is left behind.

My recommendations for the 2024 National Budget are: it should focus

more on developments, services, conservation, and transparency. It is good to

allocate a portion of the national budget to infrastructure development as it

supports the economic growth of our country. Such as funding more on

transportation systems, road networks, ports, and airports because they play an

essential part in the transport of every product from different places in the country.

Education and skills development should be the next priority giving higher

allocation of the budget and providing sufficient funds to enhance the the education

system and improve the quality of our education. Providing accessible access to

the underserved areas and continuing to support programs for skills development.

Being equipped with the education and the right skills may have a greater chance

of finding well-paying jobs.

The third priority must be healthcare and social services, increasing the

budget allocations for programs and projects under the said sector would give

every Filipino access to quality and improved healthcare as well as expand health

coverage. Providing funds to social services to continue helping people who are in

the vulnerable sectors of society.

Lastly, budget allocation is also to livelihood training and programs because

there are lots of Filipinos who do not have work. After all, they are not fit to the

company’s qualifications or they are not able to perform certain duties that the

company requires. This is an issue that needs to be addressed.

The 2024 National Budget of the Philippines is being allocated to different

sectors, programs, projects, and debt interest. As it was cautiously crafted and

approved by our President, every Filipino would give us smiles knowing it would

be spent correctly by the officials in their offices,

Having corrupt officials would domino effect on you’re the implementation

of programs or projects because the allocated funds are mishandled. I believe that

having no corrupt officials would greatly focus on spending the funds on

appropriate programs and projects.

Priorities are the key to considering budget allocations. We should know the

strengths, opportunities, and threats that our country. Knowing these may

contribute to the officials in identifying the priorities, programs, or projects that need

to be implemented as well as allocated with budget.

In making the national budget for the Philippines, it is really important to

take into account the specific needs and priorities of the country, as well as consult

with the stakeholders, experts, and policymakers to ensure that the national budget

crafted is a well-balanced budget allocation.

Transparency of all the funds allocated from different programs or projects

would allow people to know where are their money exactly. How the budget was

optimized to support the economic transformation of the Philippines and further

push the Agenda for Prosperity in achieving a future-proof and sustainable

economy for every Filipino. It will be also the reason to increase the trust of every

Filipino and stop criticizing the government for the corruption issues.