No talks about possible reenacted budget - Chavez

Metro Manila, Philippines - There are no talks about a reenacted budget even as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. aims to sign the General Appropriations Bill before the year ends, the Presidential Communications Office said on Monday, Dec. 23.

Marcos, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and the administration’s economic managers reviewed the proposed P6.352-trillion 2025 national budget two days before Christmas.

“The printed copy of the spending bill was only received by the Palace late afternoon of Dec. 20,” Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said.

Malacañang said the president aims to enact the spending program before the year ends, Chavez said, adding that there are no discussions about a reenacted budget.

“In the two meetings I attended with them, there was no mention of that (reenacted budget),” Chavez said.

A reenacted budget would mean that there will be no new programs and projects next year as the government will operate under the previous year’s budget where such items have already been carried out.

The last reenacted budget was in 2019 during the Duterte administration, when the House of Representatives indefinitely suspended budget hearings after lawmakers rejected the Executive’s shift to a cash-based budgeting system.

Last week, Marcos emphasized that the general appropriations bill is under meticulous review, aligning with administration priorities.

“We’re going through item by item, line by line to see what is priority and what is not. That’s what we will come up with,” Marcos said.

“I want to be very, very sure that the budget for 2025 is directed at the important projects that we have prioritized, number one. And secondly, that there is a stronger safeguard on the spending for the different programs kaya baka maga-assess na naman tayo ng mga project project na pinasok, sa insertion,” he added.

[Translation: I want to be very, very sure that the budget for 2025 is directed at the important projects that we have prioritized, number one. And secondly, that there is a stronger safeguard on the spending for the different programs, so we might assess once more the projects that were included as insertions.]