Senate OKs P3 trillion budget for 2016

The Senate approved on Thursday, November 26, the proposed P3-trillion ($63.66-billion) national budget for 2016. Out of the 15 senators present during the 3rd and final reading of the proposed appropriation bill, 14 voted in favor of it. Only one senator, Aquilino Pimentel III, voted against the proposal. The approved Senate budget bill now goes to the bicameral conference committee, where it will be reconciled with the version of the House of Representatives. The House approved their version of the proposed budget on October 9, practically without touching the version that Malacañang submitted in July. As in the House version, the Department of Education (DepEd) still received the largest allocation in the Senate bill – P 411.89 billion ($8.74 billion), which is a 28% or P90-billion jump from P321 billion ($6.81 billion) in 2015.

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