Power of the purse: House to prioritize 2025 budget, says Romualdez
At A Glance
- This early, Speaker Martin Romualdez guaranteed that the House of Representatives will prioritize the approval of the 2025 national budget once solons reconvene for the third and last regular session of the 19th Congress.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
This early, Speaker Martin Romualdez guaranteed that the House of Representatives will prioritize the approval of the 2025 national budget once solons reconvene for the third and last regular session of the 19th Congress.
Romualdez was asked about what the House's top priority will be upon the resumption of sessions on July 22.
“Ay syempre naman yung budget, kasi pagkatapos ng SONA (State of the Nation Address), isusumite na naman ‘yung budget sa 2025 kaya dun na lang ‘yung kasunduan na lang na pinag-uusapan natin ng House of Representatives,” he told reporters on the sidelines.
(Of course it's the budget, after the SONA, the 2025 budget will be submitted and the agreement will be there and we will discuss it in the House of Representatives.)
Unlike the Senate, the House of Representatives possesses the power of the purse", basically the power to appropriate funds for government spending. This gives the House first dibs on the proposed budget.
President Marcos will deliver his third SONA on July 22. The budget discussions in the House will commence in August at the earliest.
Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus-strong House, said the national spending program is the most important piece of legislation that Congress passes each year.
“Yun ang pinakamabigat at pinakamalaking legislation (That is the most significant and biggest legislation),” he said.
The Marcos administration is planning to propose a record-high P6.2 trillion national budget for next year. This year’s outlay amounts to P5.768 trillion.