Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday signed a 5.024 trillion pesos ($98.45 billion) budget for next year, the Southeast Asian country’s largest ever, as it aims to sustain economic recovery and manage COVID-19 outbreaks.
The national budget, 11.5% bigger than this year’s spending plan, is Duterte’s last before his single, six-year term ends in June.
The 2022 budget will “inspire actions that focus on building resilience amidst the pandemic, sustaining momentum towards recovery, and continuing the legacy of infrastructure development”, Duterte’s office said in a statement.
It includes capital outlays of 1 trillion pesos for infrastructure spending, budgetary support for state corporations, and capital transfers to local government units. —Reuters
