MANILA — PHINMA chairman and CEO Ramon Del Rosario Jr. on Monday urged the Philippines’ top financial executives to speak out against what he described as misallocations in this year’s national budget.

During his keynote speech at the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) 2025 Inaugural Meeting and Induction Ceremonies, Del Rosario said finance professionals have a duty to care about how the nation’s resources are being used.

“We cannot stay silent when we see concerning patterns in public spending. We should not just be guardians of corporate bottom lines; we should be stewards of our nation's dignity and well-being,” said Del Rosario.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier postponed the signing of the 2025 budget from December 20 to December 30, 2024 due to questions over controversial allocations.

Among them, Del Rosario cited the additional P289 billion that was inserted into the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) during closed-door bicameral meetings.

“While the President vetoed P26 billion, P263 billion of these insertions remain. These discretionary funds, coupled with critical cuts to education and healthcare budgets, threaten to undermine our nation's development priorities,” he said.

Del Rosario also criticized the huge funding cuts for social services.

“Crucial social services face deep cuts— P74 billion from PhilHealth, effectively zeroing out its subsidy, and P50.4 billion from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program that supports the education and health of poor children. These cuts force our people to depend on political patronage for basic needs that should be their right,” he added.

Del Rosario said given the technical expertise of FINEX members, they should be at the forefront of budget discussions, providing independent analysis and evidence-based recommendations.

“FINEX has a unique opportunity to shape this narrative. We can help explain complex budget issues to the public. We can work with advocacy groups to push for reforms. Most importantly, we can insist that public resources be used to strengthen institutions rather than perpetuate dependency,” he said.

Del Rosario was both keynote speaker and inducting officer at the event, where PHINMA Corp. Chief Financial Officer Edmund Alan Qua Hiansen officially took over as FINEX President.