Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman (left), Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre (PPAB)

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Malacañang's deferment of the signing of the P6.352-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2025. 

In fact, ranking solons Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said that President Marcos' decision was even commendable.

“Ito ay nagpapatunay na sensitive and ating Pangulo sa panawagan ng taumbayan (This proves that our President is sensitive to the appeal of people),” Roman, chairperson of the Committee on Women and Gender Equality, said.

She noted that there's a clamor from many sectors in society who may not fully understand the rationale or the reasons behind the reduced budget allocations for the Department of Health (DepEd) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) under next year's proposed budget.

The proposed 2025 outlay was supposed to be signed on Friday, Dec. 20. But Malacañang has opted for a meticulous review of the GAB's provisions before this, resulting to the postponement of the budget measure's signing.

“I don’t think that Congress will even question yung veto power ng ating Pangulo (the veto power of our President), and they will just look into the specific items that the President wants reviewed,” Roman said.  

“The good thing, under this administration, people are free to express what they want to say without fear, and we can work on things and we can work for the improvement of our national budget,” added the lady lawmaker.

Acidre, an assistant majority leader, described the Office of the President's (OP) review of the 2025 budget as "normal".

He noted that both Houses of Congress have already ratified the Bicameral Conference Committee report on the 2025 GAB--the largest in the country’s history. 

However, Acidre added that it was still the President’s duty to execute the budget. “His wisdom as well as his priorities will play a big role."

He echoed Roman’s commendation of the administration for promoting free speech as far as commentary on the budget was concerned.

“Ang Kongreso ay nakikinig, ang Pangulo ng Pilipinas ay nakikinig (Congress is listening, the President of the Philippines is listening).

"We all hope and I’m sure Congress and the President are one in providing a budget that will not only address the needs of Filipinos but also satisfy the need to ensure efficiency in public service and public spending," Acidre said.