Delays Dec. 20 signing of bill for ‘rigorous, exhaustive review’

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will veto certain items in the ratified budget bill for 2025 as he postponed the signing of the measure, originally scheduled for December 20, to “allow more time for a rigorous and exhaustive review.”

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Mr. Marcos is personally leading the review and is consulting with the heads of major government departments to ensure that the budget reflects national priorities and adheres to fiscal policies.

“The scheduled signing of the General Appropriations Act on December 20 will not push through to allow more time for a rigorous and exhaustive review of a measure that will determine the course of the nation for the next year,” Bersamin said in a statement.

He also confirmed that certain items in the budget would be vetoed.

“This will be done in the interest of public welfare, to conform with the fiscal program, and in compliance with laws,” he added.

The General Appropriations Act must be signed into law before the end of the year to avoid a reenacted budget, which would limit the government’s ability to implement new programs and initiatives.

On Monday, the President expressed his desire to finish the budget process “by Christmas” even as he grappled with budget cuts in the ratified bill, including a P10 billion slash from the Department of Education for its computerization program.

He assured the public that “nothing will disadvantage key sectors” in the final version of the budget bill.

Congress leaders said they respect the decision of the President to veto line items in the 2025 national budget.

“It’s part of the legislative process and the system of checks and balances in our Constitution,” Senate President Francis Escudero said.

“The Executive is well within its rights and prerogatives to review, study and make line item vetoes—as is usually done every year with the General Appropriations Bill—especially given its length, complexity and detail,” he added.

Senator Grace Poe, for her part, said the President’s decision to review the bill ratified by the bicameral conference committee is “a sign of a healthy democracy.”

“We have to support the checks and balances of our budgetary process. The President has the authority to assess the budget and approve or veto the proposed GAA. The GAA is the most important piece of legislation that can determine our economic stability and our GDP growth in 2025,” Poe said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said even if the budget is reenacted, it will still be better rather than have a GAA that is unconstitutional.

“Let’s not panic (if it is not yet done by) December 31. If we research, we’ll see how many times in the past January 1 came without a budget. Everything was fine, we survived, and nothing bad happened to the republic,” Pimentel said.

“It’s better to have an acceptable budget law than to have a budget law that the people would oppose, just for the sake of having it signed into law before December 31,” he added.

The chair of the House committee on appropriations, Rep. Elizaldy Co, commended the President “for his commitment to ensure that the national budget aligns with the country’s priorities.”

“This approach exemplifies the strength of our democratic processes and the effective system of checks and balances in our government,” Co said.

“We stand prepared to work alongside the President to refine the budget, ensuring it serves the best interests of all Filipinos,” he added.

Earlier, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri warned of a possible violation of the constitutional mandate that education should receive the highest budgetary priority.

“The budget cut was really high – almost P42 billion. Hopefully, the President can address this with his veto powers,” Zubiri said, noting that public works appeared to have the largest budget share contrary to what the Constitution provides.

Senator Imee Marcos likwise flagged the substantial increase in the Department of Public Works and Highways budget, now at P1.1 trillion, as well as the removal of the PhilHealth subsidy.

The President, however, said he was okay with the reduction in PhilHealth’s budget allocation, citing the state insurer’s substantial reserves.

“PhilHealth has P500 billion in reserve, while their yearly expenditure is less than P100 billion. Even with the reduced allocation, they have sufficient funds to continue operations,” the President said.

He said PhilHealth’s challenges lie not in funding but in processing claims efficiently.

“The priority is to digitize their system so people can access their claims faster. The problem isn’t about insufficient funds, but their capacity to process claims quickly,” Mr. Marcos added.