At A Glance
- The House of Representatives will officially get its hands on the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 on Monday, July 29, exactly a week after President Marcos' third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The House of Representatives will officially get its hands on the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 on Monday, July 29, exactly a week after President Marcos' third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The executive branch will submit the National Expenditure Program (NEP) through Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who will present the proposed outlay and other related documents, including his budget message, to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other officials of the chamber.
The NEP will be the basis of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), or proposed national budget. It will become the General Appropriations Act (GAA) once enacted.
The turnover will take place at 10 a.m. at the Romualdez Hall of the House at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.
Expected to be present is Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations which is the panel that oversees the passage of the GAB.
On Sunday, July 28, Speaker Romualdez reiterated the House's readiness in handling the budget and in starting committee deliberations as soon as possible.
“We will make sure that enough funds will be allocated for social services and for programs that will sustain our economic growth,” said the Leyte 1st district congressman.
He says the House will scrutinize the budget proposal and continue to exercise its oversight function to ensure that agencies are judiciously spending the money allocated to them.
The leader of the 300-plus-strong House also reiterated his commitment to approve the proposed budget before the first recess of the current third regular session in October.
Last week, after inspecting flooded areas in Metro Manila, Romualdez vowed to initiate a review and an updating of flood control projects in the metropolis and other flood-prone parts of the country.
The floods were caused by the heavy rains brought by Typhoon "Carina" and the southwest monsoon (Habagat).
The proposed budget for next year is about P585 billion more than this year’s P5.767 trillion outlay.