Imee urges President Marcos to scrutinize budget bill before signing
Sen. Imee Marcos–Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Imee Marcos appealed to her younger brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to thoroughly check, line by line, the 2025 budget bill before he signs it, warning against the changes made to the proposed funding that allegedly go against the administration’s priorities for next year.
The lady senator aired her appeal in an interview on Monday, noting that the president is the “only hope” for important provisions of the national budget not to be deleted.
“I am calling on my brother. If my voice is weak alone, now I hope the people will join. When our President Bongbong gave his State of the Nation Address, he mentioned the projects that should be prioritized,” said Marcos in Filipino during an interview over Radyo Natin.
“Now you are being disobeyed by the people you thought would be good to you and the people. That is why all your priorities were opposed. That is why I am calling on the Palace to please look into the issues and funds in the budget. Do it line by line. He is the only hope that the important things will not be cut,” she emphasized in Filipino.
Marcos then appealed that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) not be scrapped off its P74 billion-worth subsidy for next year. She likewise criticized the whopping P1.1 trillion funding of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the glaring “absence” of a flood control plan.
Article continues after this advertisementThe contentious Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) was also questioned by Marcos, claiming that around 4.4 million Filipinos were removed from the 4Ps list to give way for such a funding.
AKAP was kept in the 2025 budget bill after rigorous discussions of lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives. It, however, was slashed to “more or less P26 billion” from an initial allocation of P39.8 billion.
Senate panel on finance chair Grace Poe earlier made a revelation that senators will now have an active participation in utilizing the fund in order to help Filipinos in need.
“What is being said is that there is an agreement, a settlement, that Congress and the Senate would benefit together— but that is wrong. That is absolutely not allowed. I don’t want to discredit the administration, especially since it’s an election year. There are many speculations. The President should look into it [because] it is only in his hand,” said Marcos in Filipino, reiterating her appeal to her younger brother.
Veto
In a separate ambush interview also on Monday, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said the president has all the power to veto a line item to the budget if it goes against his administration’s goals.
“Hopefully, the President can remedy that. He has veto powers. [former] Sen. Ping Lacson said the President should exercise his veto powers on these line item budgets of our different departments. So, I hope that can be restored,” Zubiri told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English after he was asked to comment on the almost P42 billion budget cut made to the Department of Education and State Universities and Colleges.
Citing Article 5 Philippine Constitution, Zubiri education should have received the highest priority in the budget of our country.
With this, the former Senate chief said there may have been a possible violation of the Constitution with this change.
“That can be taken up by certain groups. It can be questioned. That’s why, all is not lost until the President can possibly remedy it through some veto provisions. So, tingnan po natin ano pong gagawin natin ng ating Pangulo,” said Zubiri.
(That can be taken up by certain groups. It can be questioned. That’s why, all is not lost until the President can possibly remedy it through some veto provisions. So, let’s see what our President will do.)
The national budget for next year amounting to P6.352 trillion now only needs the signature of President Marcos for it to be enacted.
Both chambers of Congress ratified the national budget bill on December 11, hours after the bicameral conference committee tasked to reconcile the conflicting provisions of the measure closed its final fund meeting held the same day.
In the Senate, the 2025 General Appropriations Bill was approved and ratified with a majority vote. Only Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Deputy Minority Leader Sen. Risa Hontiveros voted against the ratification of the measure.
Poe previously told reporters that Marcos is slated to sign the budget bill on December 19 or December 20 before Congress adjourns its session anew.
