Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin stated that the more than P500 billion budget for the Department of Agriculture (DA) was a 'dream' and that the agency's proposed budget was not trimmed.

This comes after Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. asked the lawmaker about Agriculture Secretary Franciso Tiu Laurel Jr.'s statement that the DA's proposed P500 billion budget was slashed to P200 billion, a difference of more than P300 billion.

“The proposed budget of the Department of Agriculture, including its attached agencies, was never slashed,” Garin said Monday during deliberations in the proposed 2025 budget at the House of Representatives.

“The P518 billion is a wishlist or the original proposal. However, as the budget process proceeds, all wish lists of agencies are scrutinized by the cabinet and the Department of Budget and Management, so much so that what was approved is the need of P200 billion,” she added.

She noted that this amount is a 16.35 percent increase compared to DA’s National Expenditure Program (NEP) for this year, which was P167 billion.

“P518.8 billion, to be exact, is the proposal. That means that is the dream that the DA wants, but what the DBM has given is P200.195 billion, which is actually an increase of 16.35 percent compared to the NEP of 2024. This means that the department's budget has increased by P32.737 billion,” Garin said.

The lawmaker added that with the many needs of the local farmers and fishermen to be addressed, the budget allocation is still lacking. However, she mentioned that this could be increased by finding unused funds from other agencies.

“It's not dreaming. It's an aspiration because [t]heir request is to have P518.8 billion; it is also the same as the request of various agencies, but there is this reality that we have to exist based on how much is in the coffers of our country.  The NEP of 2024 is P167.4 billion, compared to 2025, which is P200.195 billion, an increase of P32.737 billion. However, clearly, a lot more can be added to this because this is based on the NEP," she added.

Agri chief Laurel said in August that DMB only granted P200 billion from their request of P500 billion.

The DA has a P213 billion allocation for this year’s General Appropriations Act.