President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday signed into law the P3.77-trillion national budget for 2018 and the controversial tax reform bill. The signing of the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) bill was witnessed by government officials and lawmakers in Malacañang. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the P3.77-trillion is the government’s biggest budget to date, which is 12 percent higher than the 2017 national budget and 25.5 percent higher than the 2016 national budget. As for the tax reform law, Duterte said it was the biggest gift of the government to Filipinos. “This is the administration’s biggest Christmas gift to the Filipino people,” Duterte said in his speech after signing into law the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Bill or Republic Act No.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 19, 2017 07:18 UTC