Bicam approves P6.352-trillion budget for 2025
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate have amended, approved and ratified the 2025 budget, which amounts to P6.352 trillion.
Budget panels from the Senate and the House met in Manila Hotel on Wednesday, December 11 for the final Bicameral Conference.
Sen. Grace Poe, the Senate’s budget sponsor, said that the first bicameral conference committee saw many differences, with reconciliation seemingly impossible at times.
“Hindi lamang natin napanatili, kundi napataas ang pondo ng ilang mahahalagang ahensya kumpara sa nakaraang taon. This increase reflects our unwavering commitment to prioritize the needs of the Filipino people,” Poe said in her opening statement.
(We did not just maintain, but we increased the funds of several important agencies compared to last year. This increase reflects our unwavering commitment to prioritize the needs of the Filipino people.)
Poe said that the budget will go to institutions that prioritize social protection, livelihood programs, health, education and disaster response.
“We are also happy to report increases in the budget of the defense, justice, transportation and infrastructure sectors which will bolster the foundation of our nation,” Poe said.
Poe said that the budget more or less remained the same from the Senate version.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros expressed that she and her team would need to go over the budget once more before signing.
Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, the last senator to arrive at the bicam, was also the first one to leave. In a chance interview on his way out, he said he also did not sign the budget.
Sen. Bong Go did not attend the bicam.
Ako-Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co likewise called the bicam report a step towards new solutions.
“The initiatives we prioritized is not just a simple step away from traditional ways, but a new view that fits the goals of the government and the people,” Co said in Filipino.
Co said that the budget panels of both the House and the Senate looked at the budget meticulously.
The bicam for the annual budget has often been held behind closed doors. This bicameral conference was open to the media following calls from lawmakers for more transparency.
Concerns on transparency arose following several provisions in the 2024 national budget that slipped under the nose of some senators.
While Wednesday’s bicam was open, the fine details of the budget were not discussed in public. Instead, the final budget was merely ratified and approved. Meanwhile, House Speaker Martin Rimualdez lauded the passing of the approval of the General Appropriations Bill.
“This partnership ensured that every peso is allocated to programs that matter most in putting food on every table, improving access to health care and education, creating jobs, higher take-home pay of our peace-keeping forces, relief aid to those in need, and building infrastructure that benefits communities nationwide,” Romualdez said in a statement.
- Latest
- Trending
