Today, 29 July 2024, or one week after the President’s third State-of -the-Nation Adress, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is expected to submit to Congress the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
The proposed 2025 national budget, 10.1% higher than the 2024 budget at Php6.35 Trillion, is crafted – in the words of DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman – “to ensure that we stay on track with our economic growth targets while ensuring that no one is left behind.”
The House of Representatives, in an earlier statement, said that it is “fully prepared to receive the 2025 NEP… and the Appropriations Committee will do a comprehensive hearing in Congress, along with different stakeholders, government agencies and experts to ensure that there will be transparency, accountability and an effective use of funds.”
Having worked as a director at the DBM, I have personal knowledge and first-hand experience of the dedication and tireless service of our budget analysts and officers in evaluating the budget proposals of agencies of the government. In fact, for 2025, I understand that the DBM received as much as Php9.2 Trillion in budget proposals and only 69% of that figure (which is Php6.35 Trillion) was accepted by the DBM and was eventually approved during the 17th Cabinet meeting.
Government agencies can submit as many proposals as they want but when the DBM evaluates an agency’s budget, the increase and decrease depends on the implementation readiness of programs and projects, agency absorptive capacity, alignment with expenditure directions, among others.
In conclusion, the proposed 2025 national budget is anchored on the theme, “Agenda for Prosperity: Fulfilling the Needs and Aspirations of the Filipino People.”
We therefore expect the faithful execution of the budget, with its promised results impacting on the needs and aspirations of the great majority (58%, SWS June 2024) of Filipino families who identify themselves as poor, a sizeable number (45%, SWS March 2024) who feel no changes in their quality of life and a big chunk (40%, SWS December 2023) who remain optimistic on the economy – the lowest since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rhetoric, “No one is left behind” must be matched with tangible positive action. The Filipino people deserve no less.
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Dennis Ting is a former director of the Department of Budget and Management.
