President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to submit his proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for next year to the House of Representatives today, according to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
He will make the submission through Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who would present the proposed outlay and other related documents, including his budget message, to Romualdez and other officials of the House of Representatives.
The turnover would take place at 10 a.m. at the Romualdez Hall of the House at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.
On the eve of the submission of the proposed budget to Congress, Romualdez said Congress is ready to receive it and to start committee deliberations as soon as possible.
“We will make sure that enough funds will be allocated for social services and for programs that will sustain our economic growth,” he said.
The House would scrutinize budget proposal and would continue to exercise its oversight function to ensure that agencies are judiciously spending the money allocated to them.
Congress would align its version of the 2025 budget with the Chief Executive’s spending priorities and his agenda for prosperity.
Romualdez maintained his commitment to approve the proposed budget before the first recess of Congress in October.
This week, after inspecting flooded areas in Metro Manila, Romualdez vowed to initiate a review and an updating of flood control projects in the metropolis and other flood-prone parts of the country.
The Chief Executive is presenting the budget to Congress exactly a week from the opening of the third and last regular session of the legislature, or three weeks ahead of his constitutional deadline.
The President’s proposal is known as the National Expenditure Program.
The Congress’ version of the budget is called the General Appropriations Bill.
When the President signs the bill into law, it becomes the General Appropriations Act.
The proposed budget for next year is about P585 billion more than this year’s P5.767-trillion outlay.
