President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is targeting the signing of the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), amounting to ₱6.352 trillion, before the end of 2024.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Marcos emphasized the need for a meticulous review of the budget to ensure alignment with priority projects and strengthen spending safeguards.
“We are going through item by item, line by line, to see what is priority and what is not,” Marcos said.
Rigorous Budget Review
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin earlier announced that the scheduled December 20 signing would be postponed to allow more time for an in-depth review of the measure.
Marcos echoed this sentiment, explaining, “We need to be very careful because a lot of the money being spent is actually from loans. It’s important that it goes to the right places so we can pay off that loan and recover what we spent.”
The President is also consulting with department heads to assess allocations thoroughly.
Key Budget Highlights
The bicameral conference committee report on the 2025 budget, already ratified by Congress, includes:
- ₱733 million for the Office of the Vice President (retained from the initial proposal).
- A ₱10 billion reduction in the Department of Education’s budget.
- ₱26 billion allocated for the Ayuda para sa Kapos at Kita Program (AKAP), a social assistance initiative.
Procedural Clarifications
While some lawmakers, including Senator Imee Marcos and Senate President Migz Zubiri, suggested returning the budget bill to Congress for revisions, Marcos clarified that this is not part of the established process.
“There is no procedure to return it to the bicam. It’s finished in Congress. So it’s up to us now to look at the items and to see what are appropriate, what are relevant, and what are the priorities,” he said.
Signing Before Year-End
When asked if the budget could be finalized by December 31, 2024, Marcos expressed confidence, stating, “I think we’ll be able to do it before the year ends.”
The 2025 national budget, once enacted, will serve as a crucial roadmap for funding government projects and programs aimed at sustaining economic recovery and addressing public needs.