House passes budget bill; Makabayan reps sole opposition to ‘rushed’ approval
A PHP6.352-trillion 2025 national budget was approved by the House of Representatives (HOR) on Wednesday night, hurriedly, said progressive lawmakers typical of stamp-pad congresses.
The three Makabayan Coalition representatives were the only three negative votes as 285 congresspersons, led by the president’s cousin, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, approved House Bill 10800 or the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel questioned why the HOR had to hurriedly approve the proposed budget when the Senate is taking its time to approve its version.
Both houses of Congress have to approve their respective versions of the GAB and unify them in bicameral sessions before the bills become the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
Manuel also said the reduction in the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President to PHP 733 million is insufficient given its poor performance.
“The people even want to further slash the OVP budget to its bare minimum,” he said.
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The youth representative also scored the new pork barrel in so-called Unprogrammed Appropriations as well as Confidential and Intelligence Funds of Office of the President, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the intelligence agencies that allow foreign military presence in Philippine territories anyway.
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“We often hear there is insufficient funding in education, health and disaster relief and prepared, yet we have funds that are being used to abduct and torture our citizens,” Manuel added.
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Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said the approved bill still pays low priority to social services such as housing and education.
The women’s representative also criticized the insufficient funding to improve the country’s agricultural production and it fails to address anomalies in flood control projects worth hundreds of billions.
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“The national budget should cater to the needs of the people. The proposed budget does not address their interests,” Brosas said.
ACT Party Rep. France Castro delivered the budget deliberation’s Turno en Contra (On the Other Hand), a traditional speech given to explain dissenting votes and opinion on major legislation.
“Mr. Speaker, this is my final turno en contra as a partylist representative, and by far the hardest in my nine years in Congress, as this budget is fraught with the most questionable allocations I’ve ever seen,” Castro said.
All three Makabayan are set to finish their terms, with Castro and Brosas completing their third and final terms while Manuel, turning 30 years old next year, will be ineligible to become a nominee for their youth party.
In her speech, Castro said the PHP848 billion for payment of debts that have not benefited the people.
Castro said the PHP900 billion allocations for infrastructure projects do not include affordable housing projects despite the 6.5 million housing backlog in the country, among other problems.
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Speaker Romualdez for his part praised the House members for their “efficiency…enthusiasm, preparedness, and thorough scrutiny” of the proposed budget.
Last week, Romualdez delivered a plenary speech alluding to nemesis Vice President Sara Duterte’s refusal to answer questions on how she spent her 2023 budget. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
