THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) yesterday emphasized that the prompt approval of the proposed P6.32 trillion national budget for next year is crucial to sustaining government operations and guaranteeing the uninterrupted delivery of essential services as the year draws to a close.
In a statement, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman lauded the bicameral conference committee’s swift approval on Wednesday of the consolidated version of the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
The budget chief extended her gratitude to the leadership of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for their commitment and diligence in passing the spending bill.
“We are optimistic that the implementation of the 2025 national budget, which is expected to be signed by the President in the coming weeks, will lead to sustainable growth for our country and for all Filipinos,” Pangandaman said.
Acting Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez has said President Marcos Jr. is expected to sign the spending bill by December 20.
The proposed national budget for 2025 is set at P6.352 trillion. This is equivalent to 22 percent of gross domestic product and is 10.1 percent higher than the 2024 budget of P5.768 trillion.
In line with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, the proposed budget aims to develop and protect the capabilities of individuals and families, transform production sectors to generate more quality jobs and produce competitive products, and foster an enabling environment encompassing institutions, physical and natural environment.
Under the consolidated version, which was ratified by both houses of Congress on Wednesday night, the Office of the Vice President was appropriated P733 million, which is P1.3 billion lower than its P2 billion budget request.
The bicameral panel likewise agreed to retain the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), another contentious provision in the proposed national budget, and gave it an allocation of P26 billion as a compromise.
AKAP provides a one-time cash assistance of P3,000 to P5,000 to qualified beneficiaries whose incomes fall below the poverty threshold and who are not covered by other government aid programs.
It is designed for the near poor, or “lower middle class” segment of the population, which includes minimum wage earners vulnerable to economic shocks like the sudden death of a household head, sickness, loss of job or runaway inflation that can easily send them back to poverty.
It was not part of the budget requests in the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacañang and was described as an “insertion” by senators.
In its version of the spending measure, the House allocated P39 billion for the AKAP, which was deleted by the Senate in its approved version.
The bicameral panel also did not give the P74 billion subsidy requested by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
PHILHEALTH
Senate President Francis Escudero said lawmakers did not give PhilHealth any subsidy under the 2025 national budget due to its blunders in handling its funds.
“Dahil sa kapalpakan yun. Ito sana magsilbing wakeup call sa kanila. Hindi man palo sa mukha na gawin nila ang trabaho nila. Hindi para sa amin na i-reward ang kapalpakan nla sa pagbigay na naman ng perang ite-tengga (This is because of their lapses. This should serve as a wakeup call to them. It is not a slap on their face if they did their job well. It is not for us to reward them due to their blunders and just keep the money unutilized),” Escudero said.
Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate finance committee, has said that PhilHealth should first utilize its P600 billion excess funds before it can get any additional subsidy.
Subsidy for PhilHealth were meant to pay for indigent members’ premium and for additional members’ benefits.
Poe said PhilHealth will still get funds for its operations.
Under the NEP prepared by the Executive, PhilHealth was allotted more than P74 billion in subsidies.
Escudero said around P50 billion of the P74 billion will be used to pay for the premiums of the indigents and members who lost their jobs since every Filipino is automatically a member of PhilHealth. The remaining amount, he added, will be for additional members’ benefits.
Escudero said PhilHealth should not use its zero subsidy as an excuse not to grant members’ benefits since it’s has P600 billion is more than enough for them.
“Sobra-sobra ang pondo ng PhilHealth pero popondohan mo pa ulit at hindi naman nila ginagawa yung trabaho nila sa dagdag benepisyo’t dagdag coverage? (PhilHealth has so much excess funds and yet we will give it subsidy when it is not doing its job in increasing members’ benefits and coverage?),” Escudero said.
Besides, he said, keeping the money unutilized only loses its value due to inflation.
“Kapag hindi nila ginastos yan sa taong ito, kapag 4 percent ang inflation natin, para madaling i-compute na lang, 4 percent ng P600 billion ay P24 billiion (If PhilHealth does not utilize the money this year, and let’s say that there is a 4 percent inflation, that P600 billion loses around P24 billion a year),” he added.
He said PhilHealth can use its excess funds for universal health coverage which is stated in its charter.
He said that before the budget deliberations started, it was learned that PhilHealth has excess funds of some P500 billion, of which P89.9 billion was ordered by the Department of Finance transferred to the National Treasury.
The Supreme Court stopped the complete transfer of funds, which left the state insurer with around P440 billion.
Escudero said senators learned that PhilHealth’s excess funds increased to P600 billion during the budget deliberations.
“Bakit namin bibigyan ng dagdag, sa aking pananaw, kung sobra-sobra naman yung pondo nila at hindi ginagastos para sa miyembro. Sang-ayon sa charter ng PhilHealth, puwede nilang gamitin yung kanilang pondo para sa universal health coverage ng PhilHealth. Ang maganda pa nga doon, mula sa isang bulsa pabalik lamang sa kabilang bulsa nila iyon (Why will we give it additional funds when, to my opinion, it has so much excess funds that they do not spend for its members? According to the PhilHealth charter, the state insurer can utilize their funds for their universal health coverage. It’s like getting money from one of its pocket, and transferring it to another of its pocket),” he added.
ZERO SUBSIDY SLAMMED
Several health advocacy groups, medical societies, and workers organizations yesterday strongly condemned the decision of lawmakers to allocate zero subsidy funding for PhilHealth in 2025.
In a unified statement, the groups slammed the House of Representatives and the Senate for removing the capacity of PhilHealth to provide funds for the health coverage for indirect contributors.
“We, the undersigned, condemn the bicameral conference committee for allocating a zero budget to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation for the fiscal year 2025,” said the groups.
“It is the government’s mandate to uphold the people’s constitutional right to health by providing the appropriations that will cover the premiums of indirect contributors or those who cannot afford to pay,” they added.
They said the absence of such allocation is against the Sin Tax Reform Law and the Universal Healthcare Act.
“The zero budget assaults the Sin Tax Law that earmarks funds from tobacco and sweetened beverage taxes for PhilHealth. Moreover, the zero budget strips the premiums of tens of millions of PhilHealth’s indirect contributors,” they said.
Worse, the groups said the working class will be doubly burdened by the absence of such an allocation.
“It makes the direct contributors, many of whom are from the working class, bear the sole burden of funding PhilHealth,” said the groups.
Among the signatories of the statement are HealthJustice Philippines, Philippine College of Physicians, Philippine Society for Pediatric Radiology, Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (PSAAI), Philippine Society of Clinical and Occupational Toxicology, Philippine Society of Critical Care Medicine (PSCCM), Philippine Society of Hypertension, Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN), and Philippine Society of Newborn Medicine.
Also party to the statement are Alliance of Filipino Workers (AFW), Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector (CIU), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Labor Power Movement, Labor United and Alliances (Lab-U All), Liga Manggagawa, Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO). – With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval
