President Marcos has yet to identify items in the final version of the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 approved by the Bicameral Conference Committee that he could veto.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)

“We're not yet there, we're not yet at that point,” he said on Monday, Dec. 16, when asked about the possibility of exercising his veto power on some line items of the proposed 2025 national budget.
 

He explained that with the process “still ongoing,” they are also finalizing the details since the bicam report showed “just (the) total.”
 

“So we're returning to those and all those elements that are worrisome are something we're trying to, making sure na hindi ma-disadvantage (will not be disadvantaged),” the President added.
 

Marcos also took time to defend the bicam’s decision for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to receive zero subsidy for 2025.
 

With only P260-billion in projected expenditure in a year, the Chief Executive said PhilHealth’s P600 billion reserve funds could cover those.
 

“And the reason why, the reason we do not want to subsidize, is because the subsidy uupo lang doon sa bank account ng PhilHealth, hindi magagamit, e marami tayo paggagamitan noon (will be stagnant in the bank account of PhilHealth, will not be used when we need the funds for other needs) so that's a simple explanation there,” he stressed.
 

Maintaining that the state’s health insurer has “sufficient funds to carry on,” the President explained that PhilHealth’s “problems” lie in the process of accessing the benefits it provides and not the extent of the insurance coverage.
 

“Ang problema kung titignan ninyo (The problem, if you will look at it), you look at the reports that are happening, sa dami ng bagong services ng PhilHealth, sa dami ng mga bagong payment na binibigay ng PhilHealth, nababara ang sistema (with all the new services and payments made by PhilHealth, the system is getting clogged),” he told reporters.
 

While he encouraged PhilHealth to continue providing services to Filipinos, Marcos also underscored the need to digitalize its processes.
 

“Tuloy pa rin ang insurance, tuloy pa rin ang bayaran ng claim. At the same time, mabilis makuha ng tao ang kanilang insurance claim (The insurance should continue, the payment claims should continue. At the same time, people should be getting their insurance claim quickly),” he added.
 

Last week, Senator Grace Poe announced that PhilHealth will get zero subsidy in 2025 because of its P600 billion reserve funds.
 

She also admitted that the agency’s budget was among the contentious provisions of the 2025 budget measure.