While critical sectors face budget cuts, economists expressed concerns over the Marcos administration’s budget priorities, citing inflated discretionary allocations in the 2025 budgets for the House of Representatives and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The Philippine Economic Society (PES) is urging the president to review certain “misallocation of funds,” including a 106-percent increase in the Congress’ budget, a P288.6 billion surge in the DPWH’s budget, and P26 billion AKAP Fund with ‘unclear objectives’.
Alongside this, the PES is also appealing to the president the sectors facing budget reductions.
“We are deeply concerned [about] significant cuts to critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and social welfare risk undermining its goals of Inclusive growth, poverty alleviation, and resilience,” PES said in a Dec. 22 letter.
P187 billion overall cut
According to the organization, the P74.47 billion cut in PhilHealth subsidies risks derailing Universal Health Care (UHC), leaving vulnerable groups without access and threatening equitable healthcare delivery.
It added that the P11.6 billion budget cut for the Department of Education (DepEd) threatens to deepen the learning crisis, hinder teacher training, and weaken efforts to prepare Filipinos for sustainable jobs and a competitive economy.
Likewise, the P20 billion cut in the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) budget threatens food security, while the P83 billion cut in the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) budget endangers safety nets and worsens poverty.
“We recognize the limitations on reallocation and transfer of funds without legislative authority,” PES stated, stressing, however, that removing “unnecessary and non-transparent allocations” will help prioritize the urgent needs of the public in the budget.
As such, the PES urged the administration to restore funding for critical sectors like healthcare, education, and agriculture, while supporting strategic subsidies for PhilHealth and climate-resilient farming.
It also called for expanding feeding programs for children and ensuring transparency in social transfers to ensure equitable distribution.