Dominguez warns against unsustainable stimulus bills

DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III warned lawmakers against approving stimulus measures that the national budget cannot finance.

Dominguez cautioned that some proposed bills, such as the PHP1.3-trillion ARISE and PHP1.5-trillion CURES, would push the government's budget gap beyond acceptable levels.

He emphasized that the Constitution mandates new revenues or excess funds for any supplemental budget, and using borrowings to finance these proposals is unconstitutional.

The DBCC recently approved a budget gap projection of PHP1.56 trillion, or about 8.1% of GDP, due to the impact of the pandemic.