MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang was mum on Sen. Imee Marcos’ tirades against the proposed 2025 national budget, which is under review by the administration because of “insertions” and other items not in line with President Marcos’ policies.
The P6.352-trillion spending bill approved by Congress has drawn flak over the alleged bloated funding for public works and the reduced allocation for education, which is supposed to get the highest budgetary priority under the Constitution.
While President Marcos and his officials are still scrutinizing the proposed budget, Malacañang confirmed that the signing of the spending bill into law has been slated for Dec. 30, a schedule likened by Imee to “a thief in the night.”
In a statement issued last Monday, the President’s eldest sister said the budget for public works should be reduced by at least P188 billion to avoid violating the Constitution.
The appropriations of items vetoed by the President cannot be used to fund or augment other items in the budget, she added.
“They will have less projects to fund, which may translate to a deficit lower than what was originally programmed, which may be a good – or maybe bad? – thing, depending on who’s counting,” the senator said.
Asked to react to Imee’s statement on the budget yesterday, Presidential Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said Malacañang has no statement on the matter as of this time.
In an earlier interview, the President said several amendments have been made with regard to the budget proposed by some agencies and that it would be up to the executive branch to “regain control of the spending program.”
Imee had suggested returning the budget bill to Congress to fix the controversial items. The senator added that she was more open to reenacting last year’s budget than approving a “very very bad” spending measure.
The President had ruled out the possibility of returning the appropriations bill to lawmakers, saying there is no procedure to do so.
Marcos has vowed to restore the P12-billion reduction in the budget of the Department of Education and to examine the projects that were funded under the 2025 appropriations bill.
Former Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri is hopeful that issues in the 2025 national budget will be addressed before President Marcos signs it on Dec. 30.
“I’m hoping that they address the concerns of the education sector, especially the funding of the computerization of the DepEd,” Zubiri said in a Viber message.
Senator Marcos confirmed receiving an advisory from the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office regarding the ceremonial signing of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by the President set next Monday.
On Dec. 11, Congress approved the bicameral conference committee report on the P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025, retaining the cut in the Office of Vice President Sara Duterte’s budget – from P2 billion to P733 million – as tensions between her and President Marcos further heightened.
Both houses also approved the controversial Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program after senators were given their share from the program. The House would get P21 billion while the Senate would get P5 billion, for a total of P26 billion.
Based on the summarized bicam report, the Department of Public Works and Highway got a total of P1,113,764,447 after receiving a P288.648-billion increase. – Cecille Suerte Felipe