Retired uniformed personnel and concerned stakeholders wrote to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to convey their “serious concerns” regarding the “questionable deviations” of the approved General Appropriations Bill (GAB) 2025 from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress.
In a letter addressed to Malacanang, the 26-member group composed of retired officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), uniformed personnel, University of the Philippines (UP) Vanguard, civil society and civic organizations, and other concerned citizens called on Marcos to return the proposed P6.352 trillion 2025 national budget to the bicameral conference committee for an extensive review.
“We urge Your Excellency to use your veto power to delete extraneous clauses and support the return of monies to essential sectors that were unfairly disregarded throughout the financial process,” the group noted.
The group specifically questioned the reduction by P15 billion of the budget allocation for the AFP modernization program from its planned budget of P50 billion.
They said it “reduces national defense efforts and hinders the AFP's ability to confront security concerns and modernize necessary equipment.”
“Restoring the full allocation is important for maintaining the country's sovereignty and military readiness,” they noted.
On the other hand, the group criticized the “unjustified” budget increases of the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
It said the Senate’s budget was enhanced by P1.1 billion – from the initial GAB allocation of P12,830,174,000 to P13,930,174,009.00; the House’s budget grew by 106 percent – from P16,345,154,000 to P33,670,000,000; and the DPWH budget went up by P288,648,973,000 – from P825,115,474,009 to P1,113,764,447,009 in the bicam report for the latest budgetary proposal.
The group also noted that critical departments suffered budget cuts such as Department of Agriculture, which had a cut of P20,019,173,000; Department of Education (P22,569,739,000); Department of Health (P25,795,106,000); Department of Labor and Employment (P18,013,255,000); Department of Social Welfare and Development (P96,924,150,000); and Special Purpose Fund (P125,442,953,000).
The group also flagged the P26 billion budget allocation for the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), which provides a one-time cash assistance to eligible beneficiaries whose income falls below the poverty threshold.
“It is unclear where P26 billion was added for AKAP, which was initially removed by the Senate, which was a rather dubious item in the budget and which cast a shadow over other crucial needs. Besides, the targeting criteria for this social safety net is ambiguous and devoid of transparency,” the group said.
The group stressed that there should be a “thorough and open assessment” of the 2025 national budget “to ensure that allocations are consistent with the nation's priorities and address the most pressing needs of the Filipino people.”
“These changes are the remarkable upgrades and new items which are unnecessary and which favor less important needs at the expense of the most basic needs of the Filipino people including the welfare and security of our country,” they said.
AFP chief: PBBM taking care of issues
Meanwhile, AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. distanced the military organization from issues surrounding the budget, saying that the Commander-in-Chief is already taking care of the issues.
“Well, sa Armed Forces of the Philippines, because we want to continue to be professional, hindi na po kami nakikialam doon sa mga sulat tungkol doon sa budget natin (Well, for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, because we want to continue to be professional, we won’t meddle with the letter about our budget),” he said.
According to the military chief, Marcos was supposed to sign the national budget on Friday, Dec. 20, but he postponed it since he wanted to personally review it instead of returning the report to the bicameral conference committee.
“The President said that he is going to go over the budget,” Brawner said. “We have full trust naman doon sa sistema natin (in our system).”
Nonetheless, the AFP chief assured the public that the controversies hounding the national budget won’t be a source of discontent within the ranks, even if the budget for the modernization program suffered a huge cut.
“Hindi naman kailangang maging source of discontent or concern ito (This should not be a source of discontent or concern). Of course, we are concerned about the budget but we trust the system. That is what is important,” Brawner said.