Bicam convenes to reconcile provisions in proposed P6.3 trillion 2025 budget

The Bicameral Conference Committee comprising lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate officially convened on Thursday to reconcile conflicting provisions of House Bill No. 10800, otherwise known as the 2025 General Appropriations Bill. The bicam is being held at Sheraton Hotel in Pasay City. (Photo from NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines – The Bicameral Conference Committee, comprising lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives, officially convened on Thursday to reconcile the conflicting provisions of House Bill No. 10800, otherwise known as the 2025 General Appropriations Bill.

This year’s meeting is being held at Sheraton Hotel in Pasay City.

The proposed 2025 national budget amounting to P6.3 trillion is 10 percent higher than the current national budget of P5.7 trillion, as projected earlier by the Department of Budget and Management.

Expected to take the center stage in the discussions is the controversial budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) which was slashed by both chambers of Congress by P1.2 billion.

To date, the OVP budget stands at P733 million, but several senators have expressed their intent to bat for bigger funding for the agency.

Senate panel on finance chairperson Sen. Grace Poe said the OVP may still appeal for a budget hike during the bicam process as long as they justify, in detail, where they would allocate the funds.

Apart from this, a controversial provision in the 2025 budget bill is the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), which contains a whopping P39 billion insertion made by the lower chamber and in return was removed by the Senate.

Once bicam members have reconciled the conflicting provisions of the bill, it will be returned in both chambers of Congress for ratification.

The ratified version will then be transmitted to the Office of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for his signing.

Senate President Chiz Escudero earlier said they need to transmit the consolidated measure on the 2025 funding to the Palace for the president’s approval before the Senate again goes on break on December 20.

“Sa inaasahan naming maaprubahan ang (We expect the approval of the) budget at the latest the second week of December, at the earliest first week of December,” he told reporters then.

Priorities for the budget measure include the following: Social services, health, education, jobs, technology, infrastructure and human development.