EN 
ES 
The Director General of the Budget presented the General State Budget at a Citizen Meeting with The Political Ideas Association of PUCMM in Santiago
Santiago. – The Director General of Budget, José Rijo Presbot, He gave a lecture to members of the Political Ideas Association of the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in Santiago, where she addressed the "Budget as an instrument of public policies", within the framework of a Citizen Meeting with Budget.
This Citizen Meeting was coordinated by the Association of Political Ideas, made up of students from the Law program at PUCMM and created as a space for the free discussion of different ideologies and the resolution of conflicts.
Rijo Presbot, upon introducing himself, explained the legal framework of the Budget and its connection with Law No. 01-12, on the National Development Strategy 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals and interaction with economic and social factors.
“The Budget, as defined in State policy, has to do with the economic, the operational and administrative aspects and with the social aspects, because the budget has to respond to that, address the problems that society demands and contribute to its human development,” Rijo Presbot expressed.
The Budget Director, in his presentation, indicated that the essential function of the State is the effective protection of individual rights, therefore, the PGE It seeks to fulfill that mandate by aiming for the general well-being of the people.
He also spoke about the changes being implemented in the State's Integrated Financial Management System. (SIAFE)Multi-year budget and the elimination of administrative debt. “No official, during the year 2021, contracted, executed or accrued expenses that did not have the proper budget protection, and we included an article stating that whoever did so would pay for it with their own assets.”Presbot said.
He stated that the efficient and rational use of public spending allows the government of President Luis Abinader to carry out projects, control imported inflation, and has prevented a decrease in the quality of life of the people despite existing international conflicts.
Economic and social impact of the budget
The budget director, José Rijo Presbot, highlighted that the General State Budget (PGE) has an impact on the economy, development, and standard of living of citizens, and that this is reflected in social spending, which is nothing more than the distribution of wealth, and the goal is to promote and encourage the satisfaction of basic needs of the population and the development of territories.
“In this country they made us believe that we had to solve individually what should be solved collectively, taking away from us the concept of rights.” Rijo Presbot indicated. He asserted that, for a proper redistribution, public spending must provide all of society with quality goods and services.
Benefits of wealth distribution
Rijo Presbot explained, in another aspect, that investment in social programs increases a country's progressive development, and if tax collection systems are fair, the necessary funds can be collected efficiently and sustainably to provide more goods and services to the population.“The State and governments, as part of their primary function, must promote income redistribution and the fight against poverty, where the public budget plays a fundamental role,” the budget director emphasized as part of his remarks.
The Budget Director was accompanied by Ana Miguelina Terrero, head of the Performance Evaluation Department, and Airon Fernández, Economic Studies and Financial Monitoring Specialist at Digepres. The event was moderated by Marcos Guzmán, president of AIP, and held at PUCMM in Santiago.
