WHEN House Speaker Martin Romualdez received the National Expenditure Program (NEP) from Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, exactly a week after the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he said the national budget to be crafted by Congress based on the NEP will prioritize job creation, quality education, expanded health care and social protection.
The proposed national budget for 2025 as submitted by Malacañang is P6.352 trillion. This budget proposal for next year is about P585 billion, or 10.1 percent, higher than this year’s P5.767 trillion outlay. It is likewise equivalent to 22 percent of gross domestic product.
In her presentation to the officers and members of the House, Secretary Pangandaman said the proposed 2025 budget is anchored on three pillars of the Philippine Development Plan: Pillar 1 — Develop and Protect the Capabilities of Individuals and Families; Pillar 2 — Transform Production Sectors to Generate More Quality Jobs and Competitive Products; and Pillar 3 — Create an Enabling Environment.
‘We can only hope that this budget will not be squandered the way the P1-billion-a-day allocation for flood control projects was…’
At the NEP turnover ceremony, Speaker Romualdez personified the anticipation and willingness of members of the House to immediately buckle down to work on the General Appropriations Bill. The Speaker was also just too at home with dishing out stale motherhood statements and generalizations that do not sit well with today’s IT generation, mainly because their parents and grandparents have heard them before.
For one, the Speaker said the proposed 2025 national budget mirrors the government’s aspiration to uplift the standard of living of each Filipino. He reiterated once more that the mission of the Marcos administration is clear: to provide jobs, education, and health care for every Filipino family. Special mention for him is that through the national budget, the House would ensure funds are allocated for poor Filipinos through social protection programs.
It must be recalled that after inspecting flooded areas in Metro Manila last week, Marcos and Romualdez vowed to review flood control projects in the metropolis and other flood-prone parts of the country and scrutinize their proposed budgets.
Romualdez also promised that the House would closely examine the budget proposal to ensure that taxpayers’ money will be spent on programs and projects that are truly beneficial to the people. He said the House intends to finish deliberations on the spending measure before the recess in October.
“As we receive this document today, we recognize the collective responsibility bestowed upon us as legislators to scrutinize, deliberate, and ensure that every peso is judiciously allocated and spent,” he said. He thanked Pangandaman and the Department of Budget and Management “for their tireless efforts and dedication in crafting a budget that seeks to address the pressing needs of our people while laying the groundwork for long-term prosperity.”
Pangandaman said she was “confident that with the collaborative efforts of the executive and legislative branches, we will achieve a budget that not only meets the immediate needs of our people but also sets the stage for a more prosperous and equitable Philippines.”
What was not mentioned in this formal expression of mutual admiration between two national government officials is that the P6.352-trillion budget is a spending bill in an election year and thus the keepers of the nation’s purse have to add at least 10.1 percent from last year’s expense allocations. The lawmakers both in the House and the Senate, and those in the Executive Department just cannot wait to have their hands on the biggest budget pie in the nation’s history.
We can only hope that this budget will not be squandered the way the P1-billion-a-day allocation for flood control projects was, which only came to light when Metro Manila and many places in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao were hit by flash floods last week.
