President Marcos Approves Proposed PhP 6.352 Trillion National Expenditure Program for 2025
July 5, 2024
Overview of the PhP 6.352 Trillion Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officially endorsed the PhP 6.352 trillion national expenditure program (NEP) on July 2nd, 2024. According to the press release from the Presidential Communications Office, the approved NEP directs funding towards significant government agencies such as the following:
- Department of Education (DepEd), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
- Department of Health (DOH) and PhilHealth
- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
- Department of National Defense (DND)
Other priority areas include social welfare, agriculture, transportation, judiciary and justice.
The Next Step: Deliberations on the Approved 2025 NEP
Since the 2025 NEP was approved, the next step involves Congress deliberating on the proposed national budget, starting with the House of Representatives before moving to the Senate. Once both chambers endorse the budget, this will be marked for approval of President Marcos Jr. to become a law called the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the fiscal year.
In the recent press statement from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), President Marcos Jr. is expected to present the proposed budget to Congress within 30 days after delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22nd, 2024. Concurrently, DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman aims to submit the proposed budget to Congress within July 23rd to July 29th, 2024.
Proposed Budget for the 2025 National Expenditure Program
Previously, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) released an official press release about its national expenditure program of PhP 6.352 trillion proposal for the fiscal year 2025 during the 188th Cabinet-level meeting on June 27, 2024. This figure signifies a notable 10.1 percent increase from the PhP 5.768 trillion allocated in the previous year. The revised proposal also reflects a significant adjustment from the initial PhP 6.2 trillion suggested by the DBCC in April 2024, demonstrating a growth rate of 2.4 percent. It exceeds the 2024 budget by PhP 577 billion and represents approximately 22 percent of the projected GDP.
Aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, the proposed budget prioritizes initiatives aimed at enhancing individual and familial capacities, transforming production sectors to stimulate job creation and improve product competitiveness, and fostering a supportive institutional and environmental framework.
According to the press release, DBM Secretary Pangandaman, conducted a comprehensive evaluation of agency budget proposals for fiscal year 2025.
Key considerations included the following:
- assessing the availability of fiscal space;
- readiness for program and project implementation;
- absorptive capacity of agencies;
- alignment with established expenditure priorities.
The evaluation emphasized programs under the Three-Year Rolling Infrastructure Program (TRIP), Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP), and Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB).
Reasons for Budget Increase
DBM Secretary Pangandaman attributed the upward revision of the budget to increased national tax collections in recent years, driven by economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. She underscored the need for additional funding to support personnel during the upcoming elections. Additionally, she highlighted the substantial increase in budget allocations for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Pangandaman also noted the recent adjustment of teachers’ allowances from PhP 5,000 to PhP 10,000.
No Confidential Funds Request from OVP for 2025
Vice President Sara Duterte clarified on Saturday, June 29, 2024, that her office did not request confidential funds as part of the 2025 national budget. “For the Office of the Vice President (OVP), we have not proposed any confidential funds for next year,” Vice President Duterte stated during an event in Cebu city.
Vice President Duterte has been under scrutiny regarding the issue of confidential funds, particularly following revelations that the Office of the President transferred P125 million in such funds to the OVP in 2022. This transfer has become the subject of a petition before the Supreme Court, with petitioners arguing it constitutes a “clear usurpation of power of Congress.”
Previously, Vice President Duterte waived PhP 500 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under the proposed 2024 national budget. During the plenary deliberations on the 2024 budget of the Department of Education (DepEd), Senator Pia Cayetano highlighted Duterte’s decision to also relinquish the agency’s PhP 150 million in confidential funds.
Recently, Vice President Duterte announced her resignation as DepEd chief and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). In her resignation statement, Duterte emphasized that her decision was driven not by weakness but by her deep concern for the well-being of teachers and students.
