Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

I feel a deep sense of renewed purpose and commitment to public service after witnessing President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. (PBBM) deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, 2025.

As PBBM noted, our economy is strong, marked by low inflation, investor confidence, and job growth — signaling to the world that we are open for business, and encouraging the international business community to invest in the Filipino.

Indeed, the PBBM administration has significant achievements in various sectors. More than giving a rundown, the President surprised us by acknowledging the disappointment of our people with government services. With this, he issued a powerful directive to all government agencies: to serve better and faster.

We, at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), are ready to support the President’s call to ensure that agencies address service gaps faster, and that these services adhere to quality, transparency, and accountability while fulfilling our mandate to promote the sound, efficient, and effective management and utilization of government resources.

This is why I deeply respect the President for his pronouncement to return any General Appropriations Bill or the proposed budget from Congress, if it is not fully aligned with the National Expenditure Program (NEP), even if we end up with a reenacted budget.

We fully support the wisdom of the President and appeal to our lawmakers to heed his directive to craft a budget as close to the NEP as possible. You see, we, at the Executive Branch, have painstakingly and meticulously crafted the President’s budget. We have dedicated extensive time aligning the NEP with the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework and the Philippine Development Plan, for it to be highly responsive to the most pressing concerns of the more than 112 million Filipinos. We vow that every peso allocated will reach its intended beneficiaries in a transparent and timely manner. With this, we also support the initiative of opening the budget deliberations to the public for transparency and accountability.

I admire the President’s firm stance that the welfare and safety of the people are of utmost importance. With this, he warned that he would not tolerate corrupt practices, especially in constructing infrastructure projects that significantly impact people’s daily lives. A clear example is flood control. With the massive flooding in different areas of the country, PBBM tasked the DPWH to immediately submit a list of all floodcontrol projects from every region in the last three years, to be examined by the Regional Project Monitoring Committee, which will report on failed, unfinished, and those that are alleged to be ghost projects. The list will then be published for public scrutiny.

On our part, last Aug. 1, the DBM, with the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development led the first Special Program Convergence Budgeting Steering Committee meeting on flood mitigation and water security. During the meeting, I emphasized the need for a unified masterplan with a menu of solutions to address Metro Manila’s recurring flood problem and other climate-related water issues for long-term impact. At the end of the program, I provided the Department of Public Works and Highways a consolidated list of FY 2025 flood mitigation projects to help determine which projects should be prioritized for implementation.

PBBM clearly stated that human development is the primary priority until his administration ends. To this end, one of the projects he immediately approved is the establishment of Child Development Centers (CDCs) in low-income local government units (LGUs) nationwide, amounting to ₱1 billion, to give every Filipino child a chance at high-quality care and education. This covers a total of 328 LGU beneficiaries without CDCs. Of this number, 89 will be in Luzon, 106 in Visayas, and 133 in Mindanao, including BARMM. And, to date, we have released ₱396 million for 132 beneficiaries.

At the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council and Local Government Units (LGUs) for the establishment of CDCs in low-income barangays across the country on July 29, 2025, I emphasized that we would monitor the implementation of these projects as part of the President’s commitment. Thus, we hope to visit these structures with the President when they break ground. I also called on the LGUs to fast-track their procurement activities to start the construction of CDCs. For 2026, we have another ₱1 billion for the establishment of more CDCs.

These, to me, are some of the meaningful highlights of the President’s SONA.

Beyond budget, the President’s SONA was a call for us, in government, to serve better and faster, with more empathy and integrity. The next three years will be a turning point for our Bagong Pilipinas, for we are building a foundation for the country that is responsive, inclusive, and sustainable. Thus, I encourage my fellow workers to create not only programs, activities, and projects but also to instill trust, hope, and opportunities for our people to thrive.

(Amenah F. Pangandaman is the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management.)