SEN. Imee Marcos said she was strongly against the passage of the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which she described as a “very bad” budget.
Speaking during a Senate media forum, Marcos argued that improving the budget’s contents was better than rushing its passage.
“There is no need to revert to a re-enacted budget; we still have a few days. All of us should be patient enough to approve this budget. The poor do not have a vacation, so let’s not rush it. Let’s ensure that every cent is accounted for and fair,” she said.
She said government funds could have been better allocated to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for dialysis treatments for more than 60,000 patients at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI).
The Department of Education (DepEd) is also facing significant funding cuts for 2025. With P11.570 billion slashed from its budget, including P10 billion from the computerization program, 200,000 laptops will no longer be provided to teachers and students, Marcos said.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) also faces a P22.363-billion cutback, which includes a reduction of P9.645 billion from the agency’s National Rice Program.
“How can we achieve the target of P29 per kilo of rice if funding for agriculture continues to be reduced?” she said.
Funding for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which has almost 4.4 million beneficiaries, has been trimmed by P50 billion. As a result, families relying on this program may only receive support until June 2025, Marcos said.
She noted that some budget allocations appear to be used for “vote-buying,” especially with the elections approaching. “It is too obvious! Instead of prioritizing education, health, and social services, vague projects are being favored,” she said.
“The budget must be reviewed. It should serve the interests of the entire population, not just a select few,” Marcos said.
The opposition group 1Sambayan also hit out at “glaring anomalies” in the proposed 2025 appropriations measure.
In a statement on Saturday, the group said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) getting a higher allocation than the DepEd goes against the constitutional mandate that education should get the biggest budget share.
The also lamented there was no budgetary allocation for the PhilHealth, which is also unconstitutional.
“The proposed 2025 GAA reduces by P12 billion the budget of the DepEd that was recommended by the president to Congress. Worse, the proposed 2025 GAA reduces to zero the P74.43 billion budget recommended by the president to Congress. With this, PhilHealth will not receive its share of the Sin Taxes under the existing law must automatically be remitted to PhilHealth,” the group said.
It added that the national budget increases by P213 billion the DPWH allocation for flood control projects, reblocking of roads, rock netting, and other public works, which could result in more corruption in government.
It called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to convince Congress “to reconvene the Bicameral Conference to correct the glaring anomalies in the proposed 2025 GAA. If not corrected, the proposed 2025 GAA will truly come down as the most corrupt national budget in Philippine history.”
The President was supposed to sign the GAA last Friday but deferred it, saying it needs further study.
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