The House of Representatives urged the Senate to expedite the passage of the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for 2025 to avoid a budget reenactment.

Despite ongoing investigations into alleged fund mismanagement by Vice President Sara Duterte, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe stressed that passing the next year’s budget remains a top priority.

The House expects President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to sign the budget into law before the year’s end.

“We hope to ratify the bicameral report before our 20 December Christmas break. There’s enough time to approve the final version of the budget,” said Dalipe, urging the Senate to expedite the passage of their version of the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

To recall, the House approved its GAB (House Bill 10800) on 23 September, the last session day before its month-long break. Congress will reconvene on Monday.

The House of Representatives passed the Marcos administration’s P6.352 trillion spending plan for 2025 on Wednesday, making it the highest national budget ever approved by Congress.

It took the House 53 days to approve its GAB, a longer period compared to the past two years of the Marcos administration, but still met its self-imposed target.

“As in the past, the spending program for the coming year will be in place before the current fiscal year is over to ensure continuity of spending and seamless implementation of activities and programs,” Dalipe said.

The 2025 national expenditure is 10.1 percent higher than this year’s P5.768 trillion, equivalent to 22.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The education sector, including the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education, received the lion’s share of the national allocation with P977.6 billion, or 15.4 percent, under the National Expenditure Program.

It was followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways with P900 billion in funding and the Department of Health and its attached agencies with P297.6 billion.