THE proposed 2025 national budget of P6.352 trillion is the “best tool” to sustain the Philippine economy and grant tangible advantages to all Filipinos, said House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday, August 5, 2024.
He said prioritized for the budget are education with budget allocation of P977.6 billion, public works with P900 billion, health (P297.6 billion), interior and local government (P278.4 billion), defense (P256.1 billion), social welfare (P230.1 billion), agriculture (P211.3 billion), transportation (P180.9 billion), judiciary (P63.6 billion), and justice with P40.6 billion.
Romualdez said that through “careful and strategic allocation” of resources, everyone can have a fair share in the country's development.
He said the 2025 national budget strongly supports the three pillars of Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which are to enhance the protection of the citizens, develop more efficient sectors to generate quality jobs and competitive goods, and foster an environment through macroeconomic stability and effective governance.
“In the performance of our duty to allocate our financial resources, we bear the utmost responsibility to ensure that the budget proposals of every department and agency correspond with the welfare and advancement of the Filipino people and target their priorities and needs,” Romualdez said.
Appropriations Committee chairperson Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Elizaldy Co told to his colleagues Monday that the proposed 2025 national budget could help the Filipinos fight against poverty, especially now that the government reduced the rice tariff from 35 to 15 percent starting July 16, 2024.
“In the performance of our duty to allocate our financial resources, we bear the utmost responsibility to ensure that the budget proposals of every department and agency correspond with the welfare and advancement of the Filipino people and target their priorities and needs,” Romualdez said.
Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto assured that they scouted for more resources, leaving no worries of inflicting new taxes or debts to future generations.
He said the Refined Medium-term Fiscal Program, which gradually reduces deficit and debt, creates more jobs, increase income and reduce poverty, is on track in achieving its targets.
“And under this, we have ensured that every peso to be collected or borrowed will be stretched to deliver the biggest bang per buck for the Filipino people,” he added.
Recto also assured that the government is continuously monitoring the country's debt according to the highest standards of fiscal discipline.
There is no cause of concerns for the country's debt as the size of the country's economy is capable to meet the needed resources of obligations, he said.
Recto added that the Bureau of Treasury continues to ensure that the debts remain “manageable and sustainable.” (Grezel Balbutin, VSU intern)