France Castro —House of Representatives/Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — The bicameral conference committee that finalized the proposed 2025 national budget must reconvene again to address alleged allocation issues, lawmakers from the House of Representatives Makabayan bloc said on Monday.
In a statement, Makabayan bloc members — ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel — said that the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) appears to be mismanaged because allocation for key social programs has been slashed.
“The approved budget not only slashes critical funding for social services but also bloats discretionary funds and pork barrel allotments, prioritizing the ambitions of the political elite over the needs of ordinary Filipinos. The bicameral committee’s deliberation despite being televised, was riddled with opacity. The public was kept in the dark about the specific amendments, their justifications, and their impacts on urgent social services,” the Makabayan bloc said.
“We call on the House and Senate leadership to address the growing public outcry by immediately recalling the ratified General Appropriations Bill and reconvening the bicameral conference committee. The bicam must restore the slashed budgets for social services and remove all pork barrel allotments in infrastructure projects. This should be done under full public transparency, with proceedings broadcast live for the Filipino people to witness,” they added.
Among the points in the GAB raised by the Makabayan bloc include the following:
- Removal of government subsidy to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), amounting to P74.43 billion
- Budget cuts to the Department of Health and the Department of Education (DepEd) (computerization program)
- P289 billion increment to the Department of Public Works and Highways budget
- Possible pork barrel allocations
- Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) allocations
- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s confidential and intelligence funds
“The bicameral report also retains the questionable AKAP program. Together with other politicized social safety net funds, this is a thinly veiled attempt to legalize “ayuda politics” for the 2025 elections, routing public funds through politicians to enable massive vote-buying disguised as financial assistance. Such a move not only undermines the integrity of elections but also turns the General Appropriations Act into a tool for electioneering,” Makabayan claims.
“Despite widespread calls for accountability, President Bongbong Marcos’ P4.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) was left untouched. Worse, the bicam even increased the Office of the President’s budget by an additional P5.4 billion without any transparent justification,” they added.
According to the Makabayan lawmakers, it is not unprecedented to recall a bill that a bicameral conference committee has approved, as this has been done with the Magna Carta for Seafarers, when it was still a proposed measure.
Last February 26, the House adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 23, which withdrew Senate Bill No. 2221 and House Bill No. 7325 from its enrollment in Malacañang. The withdrawal was made on the same day Marcos was supposed to sign the bills into law.
“We note that reconvening a bicameral conference committee to address flaws in its report is not unprecedented. The bicam for the Magna Carta for Seafarers was reconvened three times, even after ratification, in order to address certain alleged flaws before it was signed into law by the President,” Makabayan said.
“Finally, we reaffirm our stand that a genuine people’s budget must prioritize the welfare of the Filipino masses—health care, education, housing, and decent jobs—not the pockets of the powerful few. It should serve to promote genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization, and an independent foreign policy,” they added.
Previously, Education Secretary Sonny Angara lamented that after the bicam came out with its committee report, DepEd suffered cuts into its proposed budget for computerization.
Eventually, Angara said that Marcos has vowed to “remedy” this cut in DepEd’s budget,
“President [Marcos] himself told us he will remedy this,” Angara said.
READ: Angara: Marcos to remedy huge DepEd budget cut
Undelivered laptops were among the issues discussed at the deliberations of DepEd’s proposed budget last September 2 — just weeks after Angara took the helm over Vice President Duterte.
During the discussions, DepEd Director Ferdinand Pitagan confirmed that only P2.18 billion out of P11.36 billion funds for computers, laptops, and smart television sets — items crucial for e-learning — were spent.
READ: Solons blast low budget use, non-delivery of laptops of DepEd under Sara
However, members of the House’s Young Guns bloc said that agencies like the DepEd must first prove that it can disburse its budget efficiently before Congress allocates more funds for its controversial programs.
Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun explained that utilization rates, or the amount of funds used by an agency for a specific project, has been a consideration for Congress in crafting the proposed budget.
READ: Solons: DepEd has to prove first it can disburse, use funds properly
Meanwhile, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V clarified that DepEd’s budget slash was not reflective of Angara’s performance, but of the agency’s inability to use funds efficiently.
According to Acidre, it is unfortunate because he knows Angara is a very good public servant, but the agency that the former senator joined last July 2024 has has been flagged for not utilizing a huge chunk of its budget for the computerization program.