SENATE APPROVES P6.352-T  2025 NATIONAL BUDGET

THE Senate on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, approved on third and final reading House Bill  10800 or the proposed General Appropriations Bill (GAB) appropriating P6.352-trillion national expenditure for fiscal year 2025.

The proposed measure was approved with 18 affirmative votes and no negative vote. Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III abstained.

The budget bill was approved on second and third reading within one day as it was certified as urgent by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr..

Pimentel questioned the certification issued by Malacanang declaring the bill as urgent, saying there is no emergency on the proposed measure.

The proposed budget is aimed at addressing critical sectors such as education, health, and infrastructure, while ensuring funding for priority programs outlined by the administration.

The government’s proposed 2025 budget shows a 10-percent increase from this year’s budget of P5.768 trillion.

Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, described the budget as “the blueprint of our priorities and the heartbeat of our nation’s future” and not just a series of numbers in the spreadsheet.

She thanked her colleagues and the staff who worked tirelessly “burning the midnight oil on many occasions” to pass the budget in time.

“This budget stands as a testament to our shared vision of a nation that prioritizes its people, a government that listens, and a Senate that delivers,” Poe said.

Earlier, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said allocations for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) may only be finalized during the Bicameral Conference Committee meeting.

The Committee on Finance earlier adopted the House of Representatives version of the budget, which includes a P1.3 billion reduction in the OVP’s 2025 allocation of only P733 million.