THE SENATE’S P6.352-trillion national budget bill has been sponsored out for plenary debate, with Congress expected to ratify the spending plan before its break in mid-December.
At Tuesday’s plenary session, Senator and Finance Committee chairperson Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares said the budget bill features enhanced funding for health and education projects, including an additional P9.9 billion for teaching materials next year.
“Our primary investment is in our citizens, which includes additional funding for health, education, and livelihood. Our goal is to bring healthcare services closer to the people,” she said during her sponsorship speech.
She said the Senate committee added funding to the Department of Health to fund the construction of 700 rural health units, 300 local government units and DoH hospitals, and other clinics and health facilities next year.
The House of Representatives turned over its 2025 General Appropriations Bill to the Senate on Oct. 28.
In the 2025 National Expenditure Program — the document prepared by the National Government detailing its spending priorities before the budget is legislated — the Department of Budget and Management slashed the proposed funding for agriculture, health, and social welfare sectors by 4.7%, 7.6%, and 3.4%, respectively.
Ms. Poe-Llamanzares said the spending plan will also provide socialized housing for over 100,000 families next year, and fund fuel subsidies to over 20,000 public utility vehicle drivers, benefiting 40 million commuters.
She said the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Security Council, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will also be getting budget increases this year.
“We will be supporting the PCG’s sea-based operations by helping them procure boats, fuel, oil and lubricant which they need to patrol the seas,” she said in the face of worsening tensions with China in the South China Sea.
The committee will also maintain the P35.19 billion allocated to the Commission on Elections to carry out and oversee the midterm national and local elections, as well as elections for barangays and youth councils, and those of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
For the agriculture budget next year, the Senate committee focused on funding irrigation and fertilizer subsidies. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
