Marcos Jr. defers signing of 2025 budget; line veto set

MANILA, Philippines —  Amid concerns over budget cuts, President Marcos has deferred the signing of the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) to give way to “a rigorous and comprehensive review,” Malacañang said yesterday.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Marcos himself is poring over the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget, which Congress ratified on Dec. 11 and was earlier scheduled to be enacted into law on Friday.

However, cuts made by lawmakers on certain agencies, including the Department of Education (DepEd), drew criticisms that caught the attention of the President, who promised to review the government’s spending bill for 2025.

“The scheduled signing of the General Appropriations Act on Dec. 20 will not push through to allow more time for a rigorous and exhaustive review of a measure that will determine the course of the nation for the next year,” Bersamin said in a statement.

“The ongoing assessment is being led by the President himself, in consultation with the heads of major departments,” he said.

The President met with Bersamin, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

According to the Executive Secretary, the President is expected to veto certain items in the proposed national budget “in the interest of public welfare” and “in compliance with laws.”

“While we cannot yet announce the date of the signing, we can now confirm that certain items and provisions of the national budget bill will be vetoed in the interest of public welfare to conform with the fiscal program and in compliance with laws,” Bersamin explained.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co said yesterday that the House of Representatives respects the decision of the President to delay the signing of the 2025 GAA.

“We fully understand and commend President Marcos for his commitment to ensure that the national budget aligns with the country’s priorities,” Co, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said.

“This approach exemplifies the strength of our democratic processes and the effective system of checks and balances in our government,” he added.

‘No reenacted budget’

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III doused fears of having a reenacted budget.

“Let us not panic come Dec. 31. How many times in the past that we still don’t have a budget come Jan. 1? Nothing happened to the republic,” Pimentel said at a press briefing yesterday.

He added it would be good for the country to have a fine-tuned version of the budget after critics flagged the bloated P1.113-trillion Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget that exceeded DepEd’s budget.

The President can realign items in the budget and tap into savings to restore cuts, such as DepEd’s P10-billion computerization program that formed part of its P12-billion budget cut, according to the senator.

Constitutionally infirm

Pimentel cited the following items in the budget that could be constitutionally infirm – the DPWH budget hike that surpassed DepEd’s despite a 1987 Constitution provision that education should receive the highest allocation, and the P531.7-billion unprogrammed funds.

The bicameral conference committee approved on Dec. 11 the final version of House Bill 10800, or the proposed P6.352-trillion 2025 national budget.

Several lawmakers have raised concerns about budget cuts in the proposed GAA, including a P12-billion reduction in the DepEd’s budget and the removal of subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

On Monday, Marcos vowed to restore the multibillion-peso allocation slashed from DepEd’s budget, saying the move to reduce the agency’s proposed outlay for next year goes against his policy direction.

The bicameral conference committee has reduced DepEd’s 2025 budget from P748.65 billion to P737 billion in the reconciled version of the GAA.

Rep. Rodge Gutierrez of 1-Rider party-list has defended the decision of the House of Representatives to remove P10 billion from DepEd’s computerization budget, citing what he called the “problems and scandals” left behind by its former chief, Vice President Sara Duterte.

While Marcos is against the budget cuts for DepEd, he is supportive of the move to give PhilHealth zero subsidy because of its multibillion-peso reserve funds.

According to the President, the state-run health insurer has a P500-billion reserve, but the cost of providing its services in a year is just less than P100 billion.

Former senator Panfilo Lacson also vowed to scrutinize the bloated 2025 budget of the DPWH.

Senate finance committee chair Grace Poe earlier defended the P288.7-billion increase in the DPWH’s budget, saying there are foreign-assisted projects next year that need government funding.

Undo funding cuts

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) is urging the bicameral conference committee to reconvene and undo the “massive” cuts to basic social services in the 2025 GAA.

The group stressed that slashing billions from the education budget while inflating discretionary funds was “nothing short of criminal negligence” and paves the way for political gain ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.

“Slashing P16.5 billion from DepEd and P27.3 billion from CHED (Commission on Higher Education) is nothing short of criminal negligence against the education sector, which is already grappling with severe shortages and a worsening learning crisis,” said ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua.

“The Marcos Jr. administration and its allies in Congress have revealed their priorities of consolidating power and serving self-interest, as they deprive education and social services of adequate funding while funneling massive amounts into discretionary and pork barrel funds to secure electoral advantage in the upcoming midterm elections,” he added.

Both houses of Congress approved the controversial budget for the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) after senators were also given their fair share of the program. The Senate and the House of Representatives were allotted P5 billion and P21 billion, respectively.

The Senate was also allocated an increase of P1.1 billion, bringing their budget to P13.930 billion for 2025, while the House got an additional budget of P17.324 billion or a total of P33.670 billion for next year.

“The P26-billion fund for AKAP is to slather financial aid onto the faces of the poor to help politicians entice voters. This is proof that politicians are turning the government into a big business to stay in office and accumulate wealth from the public treasury while skimping on funding for education, health and other basic social services,” Quetua said.

He also slammed the more than P35-billion cut in the health sector, saying that the cut “is disgusting while the confidential and intelligence funds are being used to suppress the democratic rights of the people.”

The group reiterated its call for Congress to ensure allocation to the education sector equivalent to six percent of the country’s gross domestic product as recommended by the United Nations to address the extensive shortage in teachers, classrooms, education support personnel and teaching and learning materials and to resolve the learning crisis.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said he met with Marcos and Pangandaman yesterday to discuss the possible ways to remedy the P12-billion cut in DepEd’s proposed budget.

“After meeting with PBBM… Pangandaman and I were given instructions to address the DepEd budget cuts through any and all possible avenues. Thank you for all the support,” Angara said in a post on X.

While Angara did not disclose the particular remedies discussed during the meeting, he earlier said DepEd could explore ways to supplement its 2025 budget, including drawing from savings.

The education chief said Marcos was keen on pouring extra funding into DepEd to fill the deficit.

For his part, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma yesterday defended the 2025 budget allocation for the continuing implementation of Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).

He explained that TUPAD is an essential government program even if the COVID-19 pandemic in the country is over.

“There are still disadvantaged and displaced workers, that’s why TUPAD still has relevance and importance especially in times of calamity,” Laguesma said in a radio interview yesterday.– Mayen Jaymalin, Neil Jayson Servallos, Jose Rodel Clapano, Marc Jayson Cayabyab