The House of Representatives is eyeing the approval of the 2025 national budget before the October recess, as committed by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, citing the early submission of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the efforts of its members.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe and Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. emphasized the importance of adhering to the timeline to ensure the Senate has ample time to review the measure.
According to the legislative calendar, Congress will be on recess from September 28 to November 3.
Dalipe said the efficient work being done by the chair and the different vice chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, along with the active participation of the minority in the budget deliberations, “gives us confidence that we can meet this deadline.”
For his part, Gonzales noted that all House members are currently busy reviewing the budget.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)—submitted the P6.352-trillion NEP to Congress three weeks ahead of the constitutional mandate timeline. This prompt submission has been lauded by both Dalipe and Gonzales.
“The instruction of the House leadership is for the Committee on Appropriations to start with the budget briefings without any delay. By next week, we will begin the budget briefing of the 2025 NEP,” he disclosed.
The budget briefing will start Monday next week with the Development Budget Coordinating Council (DBCC), which includes the DBM, the Department of Finance, and other agencies involved in budget creation.
The government is set to invest another P12 billion to modernize 13 aviation hubs across the country in a bid to enhance the air travel experience of passengers, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr., vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations said.
Campos also noted that under the 2025 National Expenditure Program, the government is spending more to upgrade airports in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Campos identified the 13 airports set for upgrading and their corresponding capital outlays as follows: New Dumaguete Airport (P6.1 billion); Tacloban Airport (P2.3 billion); Busuanga Airport (P1 billion); Laoag International Airport (P750 million); Iloilo International Airport (P645 million); Virac Airport (P280 million); New Manila International Airport (P200 million); Siquijor Airport (P200 million); New Zamboanga International Airport (P130 million); Antique Airport (P125 million); Central Mindanao (M’lang) Airport (P100 million); New Bohol Airport (P90 million); and Bukidnon Airport (P50 million).
The President has received the proposed 2025 from DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman in Malacañang on Wednesday.
In a previous statement, Pangandaman highlighted a significant decrease in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) in the proposed 2025 budget compared to the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
