No 2019 budget, no new projects

No new projects can be awarded until Congress approves — and President Rodrigo Duterte subsequently inks into law — this year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA), the Budget department said on Monday.

In a statement, the department underscored that Circular 09-2018 issued by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) states that “activities or projects that are included in the FY (fiscal year) 2019 NEP (National Expenditure Program), hence not part of the FY 2018 GAA, may be awarded on the basis of the FY 2019 GAA.”