Congress goes on break, vows passage of budget

MANILA, Philippines — Congress went on recess yesterday even as Senate President Francis Escudero gave assurance that the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 will be passed on time.

The break will allow lawmakers seeking reelection to file their candidacies for the 2025 polls.

“The government’s spending plan for 2025 will take priority when senators resume session on Nov. 4,” Escudero said. “Our target is to pass the budget early to give the President ample time to review it.”

The House of Representatives will also use the break as an opportunity to print the approved version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) and transmit it to the Senate.

Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on finance, said that based on the schedule agreed with the House, the transmittal of the GAB is on Oct. 25.

While waiting for the transmittal, Poe said the hearings in the Senate will continue until Oct. 18.

“Only after that and the transmittal of the GAB can we start drafting the committee report in the Senate,” Poe added.

Big haul of bills

Escudero reported a “big haul of bills” passed by the Senate in the 26 session days since it convened on July 22 and vowed to address any backlog of measures under his watch.

“It’s a scoreboard we can be truly proud of,” Escudero said, citing the 137 pieces of legislation approved by the Senate, 62 of which are of national application and 75 of local concerns.

“It’s not just the investigations but the forging of the law. These probes make for good TV, but much of my colleagues’ work are actually done outside the glare of cameras,” he said.

Among the bills passed by the Senate are 12 of the priority bills of the Marcos administration, namely the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy or CREATE MORE, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Act, VAT on Digital Services and the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act.

The Amendments to the Agricultural Tariffication Act, Blue Economy Act and the Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act are up for discussion in the bicameral conference committee.