Marcos gets P6.352-T nat’l budget

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has accepted the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) totaling P6.352 trillion for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 in support of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023–2028.

Marcos approved the NEP during a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday where Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman presented the proposed national budget for 2025.

Data from the Department of Budget and Management showed the proposed national budget is 10.1 percent higher than the 2024 budget of P5.768 trillion.

“You see a really good thing,” the President said.

“Since I’ve seen it before on the macro level, I think the priorities in terms of our proposed appropriations, upon addressing it, weighted our priorities properly in terms of appropriations,” he added.

Marcos is expected to present the proposed budget to Congress within 30 days after delivering his State of the Nation Address (SoNA).

Meanwhile, Pangandaman targets the submission of the proposed budget to Congress within one week from the President’s SoNA.

Following President Marcos’ directions and policy guidelines, the government will give food security, social protection, healthcare, housing, disaster resilience, infrastructure, digital connectivity and energizing top priority.

Under the NEP, the departments of Education, Public Works, Health, Interior and Local Government and Defense, among others, will get the lion’s share of government funds.

Top government concerns also include social welfare, agriculture, agrarian reform, transportation, the courts and the justice department.

‘Since I’ve seen it before on the macro level, I think the priorities in terms of our proposed appropriations, upon addressing it, weighted our priorities properly in terms of appropriations.’

Regarding spending type, people services come second followed by maintenance and other running costs; capital outlays and financial expenses come third.

Among the elements under government evaluation in the 2025 budget are availability of fiscal space, implementation and preparedness of program/activity/projects, agencies’ absorptive capability, alignment with the budget priorities framework, and the PDP 2023-2028.

The development and protection of personal and family capabilities form the PDP 2023–2028 Pillar 1.

Along with raising people’s income-earning capacity, it entails the encouragement of human and social development, thereby lowering vulnerabilities and safeguarding purchasing power.

Under Pillar 2, the government wants to change the output of the different sectors to provide more competitive goods and quality employment. This covers upgrading agri-business and agriculture, thus energizing the sector and renewing services.

Conversely, Pillar 3 emphasizes building an enabling bureaucratic environment. This entails guaranteeing macroeconomic stability and increasing inclusive and innovative finance, thus safeguarding peace and security, and so strengthening administrative justice using good governance and improved bureaucratic efficiency.

Under Pillar 3 also fall expanding and updating infrastructure, increasing climate action, and enhancing resilience to catastrophe.