MANILA, Philippines — The next administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would be required to spend a record P5.268 trillion in its first full-year national budget in 2023.

The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), led by Budget Officer-in-Charge Secretary Tina Rose Marie Canda, authorized a larger 2023 budget request on Tuesday than the P5.242-trillion estimated when the DBCC last convened in December.

The national budget for 2023 will be comparable to 22.1 percent of the GDP (GDP).

When the next 19th Congressional session begins, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) must present the national budget for next year to Congress within a month after Marcos Jr.’s first state of the nation address (SONA).

Canda stated that the higher budget for 2023 resulted from an increase in the forecast for next year’s tax and non-tax receipts to P3.633 trillion, or 15.3 percent of GDP, from the previous P3.624-trillion aim. Together with borrowings, government revenues essentially finance the budget.

The DBM Chief Executive stated that the higher revenue prediction for 2023 reflects anticipation that economic activity would continue to ramp up in the future years as the economy reopens from previously harsh pandemic restrictions.

The DBCC forecasted 6-7 percent GDP growth next year, a lower range than this year’s revised and narrower 7-8 percent economic growth target. The government had previously targeted a more ambitious 7-9 percent growth rate for 2022, but Canda said external risks such as Russia’s prolonged invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted local food and oil prices, expected aggressive interest rate hikes in the US, and a slowing Chinese economy have tempered the Philippines’ own growth expectations.

When asked if the budget ceiling for next year was already fixed, Canda said, “For prudent fiscal management, we have to stick to a P5.268-trillion budget for 2023.”

“It may be tight, but we have to live within that level if we want to be respected by the international financial community,” Canda said.

Canda, however, stated that the DBM may still make changes within the budget ceiling – the content of the spending plan may alter based on the goals of the next administration.