Congress queries agri, health, social spending funding cuts
THE Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will be asked to explain to Congress the reduction in proposed budgets for agriculture, health, and social welfare, Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David C. Suarez said at a briefing.
“This will be tackled as we progress into the budget hearings,” “We have a DBCC briefing next week, and we will surely ask the Executive department to explain these deductions,” Mr. Suarez said.
On Monday, the administration proposed a P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025, equivalent to 22.1% of gross domestic product.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the reductions are apparent when comparing the proposed 2025 budget with the funding approved by Congress in the budget bill it passed for 2024, known as the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said, however, that comparing on a like-for-like basis — the budgets proposed by the government in 2024 and 2025, known as the National Expenditure Program (NEP), “you will notice that there is actually an overall increase for the agencies concerned,” adding that government-proposed allocations are mostly higher across the board.
Ms. Pangandaman, responding via Viber to queries about the budget adjustments, said the 2024 GAA reflects changes made by legislators “and therefore does not reflect the original criteria the DBM used to evaluate agency proposals.”
“Furthermore, changes such as (project completions) or shifting priorities, as requested by agencies, contribute to what seems like a decrease in funding,” she added.
Next year’s NEP allocation for the Department of Health is P223.19 billion, against the 2024 GAA funding level of P246.75 billion. The 2025 NEP proposal remains higher than the P204.6 billion the DBM submitted to Congress last year.
The budget for agriculture, which includes the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Reform, is P211.38 billion, lower than the 2024 GAA total of P221.7 billion and the P221.86 billion proposed in the 2024 NEP.
The House of Representatives will begin its budget deliberations next week, legislators said on Tuesday.
The 2025 proposed budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development of P230.1 billion reflects a 7.2% decline compared to the GAA level of P248.1 billion this year.
Manila Rep. Ernesto M. Dionisio said he is not alarmed by the funding adjustments, noting the opportunity to make changes when the GAA is legislated.
“It’s only a proposal, and sometimes the reductions don’t necessarily mean anything negative,” he said at the same briefing Mr. Suarez spoke at. “Sometimes, we have projects that were accomplished… that don’t need to be funded anymore.”
The House will look at augmenting the proposed funds for the agencies concerned if they deem it necessary, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in the same briefing. “If we see programs that need more funding based on our scrutiny, then we’ll augment the funds.”
Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether a provision in the 2024 budget authorizing the government to claim unutilized funds from government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) will be included in next year’s budget.
“We can’t say until the process is done. It will undergo a long and thorough process (before we can say if it’ll be included),” said Mr. Suarez.
However, Mr. Suarez is “very supportive of that principle” as funds remitted by GOCCs due to the so-called cash sweeps could help fund unexpected projects. “The Chief Executive has to be given enough elbow room to address these unforeseen events that might require funds to address.” — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio