At a briefing following the 188th Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee meeting yesterday, Budget Secretary and DBCC chair Amenah Pangandaman said the proposed National Expenditure Program for 2025 is P6.352 trillion.MANILA, Philippines —
“Social sector will definitely, again, get a big chunk of the budget – that’s education, health and social protection,” Pangandaman said. Pangandaman explained that the increase has taken into consideration the higher budget allocation for local government units – up by almost 20 percent to P1.03 trillion.
“Next year is also an election year so we have to fund that, we increased the allowance for those who will help in the election,” Pangandaman said. Furthermore, Pangandaman emphasized that the budget will build on the gains from the first two years of the Marcos administration and continue to usher in economic and social transformation for a prosperous, inclusive and resilient society.
In evaluating the agencies’ budget proposals for 2025, Pangandaman said the Department of Budget and Management considered several factors such as the availability of fiscal space, implementation-readiness of programs and projects, agency absorptive capacity, and alignment with expenditure directions.