THE newly created Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), formerly NEDA, needs a higher budget to realize its plans in 2026, said the agency's Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri has proposed an additional P150 million on top of the allocation for DEPDev, but Balisacan said he "hopes it can be a little bit more. We are not asking much... Now that we are given a more focused mandate, I think we can be more efficient in our use of resources," the Socioeconomic chief told the media at a recent briefing.
