House begins committee hearings on proposed 2025 budget

PROPOSED 2025 BUDGET / JULY 29, 2024The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez today received from Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman the proposed P6.352-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for Fiscal Year 2025 With this, the Committee on Appropriations will soon start the deliberations for the country's national spending plan which aims to deliver social and economic transformation and position the Philippines as a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society. Anchored on the theme “Agenda for Prosperity: Fulfilling the Needs and Aspirations of the Filipino People,” the budget proposal centers on social services and economic growth. The budget will fund education and training programs, expanded quality healthcare services, and development of job opportunities. During the turn-over ceremony, Speaker Romualdez said the House recognizes its collective responsibility towards the swift and timely passage of the proposed 2025 national budget and to ensure that the same shall not only meet the immediate needs of the Filipino people but will also set the stage for a prosperous and equitable Philippines. Joining the Speaker in receiving the FY 2025 NEP are Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, and Appropriations committee chair Elizaldy Co. Likewise present are Deputy Speakers David “Jay-jay” Suarez, Kristine Singson-Meehan, and Yasser Balindong, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, other House Members, officials from the DBM and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), and House Secretariat officials led by Secretary General Reginald Velasco. PHOTO FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left) receives from Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman the proposed P6.3-trillion National Expenditure Program for Fiscal Year 2025. (File photo dated July 29, 2024 from HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES)

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has formally started deliberating the P6.3 trillion proposed national budget for 2025 at the committee level.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez initially presided over the hearing.

The House committee on appropriations began its briefing on Monday at the plenary hall, with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) being scrutinized first.

DBCC is composed of the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, National Economic and Development Authority, Office of the President and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Particularly, the DBCC will be quizzed about how they formulated the National Expenditures Program (NEP) and their funding sources.

Romualdez, in his opening speech, said crafting the national budget is a “critical tool for steering a country’s development path.”

“As we proceed, we are fortunate to have the opportunity of listening to our esteemed guests as they elucidate on the process of formulating the P6.352 trillion National Expenditure Program,” he told lawmakers.

“The proposed 2025 national budget is anchored on the theme ‘Agenda for Prosperity: Fulfilling the Needs and Aspirations of the Filipino People,’” he noted.

According to Romualdez, education will be a priority along with other sectors like public works, health, local government, defense and transportation.

“On top of the priority list is education with an allocation of P977.6 billion; public works with P900 billion; health with P297.6 billion; interior and local government with P278.4 billion; defense with P256.1 billion; social welfare with P230.1 billion; agriculture with P211.3 billion; transportation with P180.9 billion; the judiciary with P63.6 billion, and justice with P40.6 billion,” he said.

READ: DBM submits proposed P6.3T national budget for 2025 to House

After the DBCC, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s contribution to the budget will be discussed on Tuesday, April 6.

As of Monday, here are the agencies scheduled to appear before the committee on appropriations and their corresponding dates:

August 7 (Department of Environment and Natural Resources/Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development)

August 8 (Department of Energy/Energy Regulatory Commission/Commission on Higher Education)

August 12 (Department of Agriculture)

August 13 (Department of Foreign Affairs/Commission on Audit)

August 14 (Department of Trade & Industry)

August 15 (Department of Agrarian Reform/Office of the Vice President/Department of the Interior and Local Government)

August 20 (Department of Migrant Workers/Department of Tourism)

August 22 (Department of Labor and Employment/ Department of Information and Communications Technology/ Department of Social Welfare and Development)

August 27 (Civil Service Commission/Office of the Ombudsman)

August 28 (Department of Transportation)

August 29 (Commission on Elections/ Commission on Human Rights/ Department of Science and Technology)

September 2 (Department of Education)

September 3 (Office of the President/Presidential Communications Office)

September 4 (Department of Health)

September 5 (The Judiciary/Department of Justice/Department of Public Works and Highways)

September 9 (Department of National Defense)

The proposed 2025 budget was transmitted to Congress last July 29 — the earliest that the executive, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., sent a NEP to the Legislature.

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Under the 1987 Constitution, the executive is given 30 days after a president’s state of the nation address to submit the NEP to Congress.