Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Wednesday thanked the Senate for the “swift” approval of its proposed budget, ensuring that every peso will be accounted for.

Under Pangandaman, the DBM and its attached agencies have a proposed PHP1.737 billion budget for the fiscal year 2023.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Joel Villanueva moved to close the period of interpellations and approve the DBM’s proposed budget following no other reservations.

“We are grateful to the honorable members of the Senate, under the leadership of Senate President [Juan Miguel] Zubiri, for the swift approval of our budget for 2023,” Pangandaman said during the plenary debate and interpellations on her agency’s budget.

She vowed to use her agency’s budget to help improve the lives of Filipinos.

“As mentioned before, we will ensure that the Filipino people get the most of every peso entrusted to their government,” she added.

The attached agencies of the DBM are the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), Procurement Service-DBM (PS-DBM), and Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS).

Aside from Pangandaman, other members of the Economic Team present during the plenary debate were Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla, and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

The House of Representatives has approved the DBM’s proposed budget in September.

The plenary debates on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) commenced Wednesday.

Plenary sessions resumed in the afternoon, including the interpellations on the DBM’s proposed budget.

Earlier, the Senate vowed to finish budget deliberations until the final reading of House Bill No. 4488 or the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by Nov. 21. (PNA)