MANILA (UPDATED) — The House of Representatives ratified on Wednesday the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025, bringing it a step closer to getting enacted.

Bicameral conferences seek to reconcile the differences in the versions of bills — in this case, the General Appropriations Bill — passed by the upper and lower chambers of Congress.

The Senate will also have to ratify the bicam report, before it can be sent to Malacañang, for the signature of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Senate, House lawmakers wrap up bicam meeting on proposed 2025 budget

The bicameral conference committee maintained the reduced budget for the Office of the Vice President at around P700 million.

It, meanwhile, retained the lower house’s decision to allocate funding for the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) for 2025 but at P26 billion, down from around P39 billion originally proposed.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez expressed gratitude to the senators for their support to the AKAP.

“Na-maintain at naibalik kaya tuloy-tuloy ang programa ng AKAP para sa mahihirap,” he told reporters in a chance interview following the bicameral meeting.

(It was maintained and retained, so the AKAP program can continue to help the poor)

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When asked about reports that senators will also receive AKAP, Romualdez issued this response: “Well, we can have arrangements now with the Senate po, we’re looking forward to that. We were supported by the Senate, so maraming salamat sa ating [mga senators].”

OBJECTIONS

Kabataan Party List Representative Raoul Manuel manifested his objections to the ratified bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2025 national budget, citing reductions in the proposed funding for the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education.

"May mga nakita po tayong mga pagbabago, hindi for the better pero para lalong ilayo ang ating bansa sa tunay na pag-unlad… Mayroon pong kaltas sa budget ng DepEd at CHED, nakakapagtaka po ito lalo na habang tayo ay hindi pa nakakaahon sa education crisis pero itong mga ahensya na siyang may direktang mandato sa pagtiyak ng access at kalidad ng ating edukasyon ay kinaltasan pa ng budget ng bicam," Manuel said.

He said the bicam's proposed 2025 budget for certain social services under the DSWD, DOLE and the Department of Agriculture was also lower compared to the proposal in the National Expenditure Program. 

Manuel further slammed the recommended budget allocation for health programs, as he noted that the proposed budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways increased by roughly P290 billion.

"Habang may zero budget sa PhilHealth, nakakapagtaka din bakit may kaltas din sa budget ng DOH mismo. So how can we expect to have better healthcare services kung mayrong P25.8 billion budget cut sa DOH kung ikukumpara 'yung bicam version sa NEP ng ating national budget?" he said.

"May kaltas din sa calamity fund from P21.5 billion papuntang P21 billion… Dama po natin ang mga epekto ng climate change, pero itong ready na fund para sa pagdating ng mga sakuna ay nakaltasan pa," Manuel added.

He questioned the three-fold increase in unprogrammed appropriations and the increase in the Office of the President's proposed budget from the NEP to the bicam version.

"Matitriple mula NEP papuntang bicam ang unprogrammed appropriations mula P158.7 billion papuntang P531.7 billion. Dito rin ba napunta 'yung ilang items na kinaltas mula sa programmed appropriations kagaya ng serbisyo, nilagay po bas a unprogrammed appropriations?" Manuel asked.

"Tumaas pa po ang pondo ng Office of the President by P5.4 billion kaya from 10 billion magiging 15.8 billion ang pondo ng Office of the President. Kaya ang tanong po natin, saan mapupunta ang pondo na yan?" he added.

"The budget that we have as approved by the bicam still has many red flags. Naging bulnerable ang serbisyo para sa taong bayan, pero ang mga big-ticket infrastructure projects sa ilalim ng DPWH, at ang mga discretionary funding lalo na sa unprogrammed appropriations, ay panalo sa ilalim ng version na ito. This is also a disappointment for citizens na nagsusulong po ng mas open na budget process kabilang na yung mas transparent po sana na proseso ng bicameral conference committee," Manuel stressed.

House Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Party List Representative Arlene Brosas, for her part, said congressmen were not given the opportunity to study the bicameral conference committee report before it was ratified.

"We just received a copy of the 2025 budget bicameral conference report an hour or minutes ago. Despite this, we are proceeding with its ratification in the plenary without lawmakers having had the opportunity to study the report... Hindi dapat minamadali ang pagpasa ng budget nang hindi pa nasusuri nang maigi ng mamamayang Pilipino," Brosas said.

"Panawagan din natin na i-abolish ang confidential at intelligence funds at ilagay sa mga serbisyo para sa mamamayang Pilipino… Kailangan din nating tiyakin na may sapat na pondo para sa kalusugan, edukasyon, at social services. Sa gitna ng tumataas na presyo ng bilihin at patuloy na krisis sa ekonomiya, hindi katanggap-tanggap na mas malaki pa ang inilalaan sa militar kaysa sa mga basic na serbisyong panlipunan," she added.