MANILA - The House of Representatives on Wednesday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed PHP5.024-trillion national budget for 2022. During the plenary session, the chamber ratified the final version of the spending measure after the bicameral committee reconciled the disagreeing provisions earlier in the day. Following its ratification, the 2022 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) will be transmitted to Malacanang for President Rodrigo Duterte's signature. Among the amendments introduced in the final version of the proposed 2022 budget is the increase in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)'s budget to PHP17.1 billion after it was initially cut down to PHP4 billion. House committee on appropriations chair Eric Yap said the proposed 2022 budget would be "crucial for our full recovery from the pandemic as a nation." "Rest assured that the government's battle strategy on health and nutrition, social protection, governance, and development, are carried out in this budget," Yap said. The proposed 2022 General Appropriations Act is 11.5 percent higher than this year's PHP4.506 trillion. The budget plan is guided by a strategy supported by three main pillars - Building Resilience amidst the Pandemic; Sustaining the Momentum towards Recovery; and Continuing the Legacy of Infrastructure Development. (PNA) }