President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. MALACAÑANG PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the House of Representatives believe Congress will not exercise its override function in case President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoes items in the proposed 2025 national budget, noting that they will respect his wisdom.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman, and Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre were asked about Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin’s announcement that the scheduled signing of the P6.352-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2025 will be deferred.
Bersamin said the deferral would be done so that Marcos could do a rigorous review of the GAB. According to Bongalon, they respect the President’s decision, and he believes Congress will not override whatever changes Marcos may make.
“I guess he will exercise his veto power, and under the process, our President will communicate to Congress through a letter… wherein he will specifically mention the particular line item to be vetoed. So that’s our budget process,” Bongalon explained.
“Under the Constitution also, the Congress can also exercise the power of overriding the veto power of the President. But I guess we cannot tell more about the overriding because again, me personally, I will respect the decision, the wisdom of the Office of the President considering that there is a need to really review the final version of the budget,” he added.
Roman said that while Congress has justifications for removing allocation for certain items — like the slash on the Department of Education’s (DepEd) computerization program and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) zero subsidy for 2025 — she also thinks Congress would not question the changes that Marcos might make.
“I think there is a clamor from many sectors in society who may not fully understand the rationale, the reasons as to why these allocations were made for education and PhilHealth,” she said.
“This only proves that the President prioritizes education and he recognizes its role in nation-building. So I think that the Congress, I don’t think will even question the veto power of the President. And they will just look into the specific items that the President wants reviewed,” she added.
According to Bersamin, Marcos is leading the assessment of the budget in consultation with “the heads of major departments.”
READ: Signing of 2025 GAA deferred for President’s review – Bersamin
While there is no official declaration regarding what items might be amended in the bicameral conference committee’s 2025 GAB, Marcos previously said that he would restore the funds removed.
READ: Marcos vows to restore funds slashed from DepEd
Initially, lawmakers were lukewarm to the idea of funds being placed back for DepEd’s computerization program, as they believe that the department must first prove that it can disburse its budget efficiently before Congress allocates more.
Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun explained in a press briefing on Monday that many of the laptops procured by DepEd were still in warehouses, with a dismal utilization rate of P2.75 billion of P11.36 billion for its information and communication technology project.
Acidre and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V clarified that DepEd’s budget slash was not reflective of Secretary Sonny Angara’s performance but of the agency’s inability to use funds efficiently.
After the bicam came out with its committee report, Angara lamented the budget cut suffered by DepEd, noting that this could have been a huge help for the agency’s computerization bid.
Undelivered laptops were among the issues discussed at the House deliberations on DepEd’s proposed budget last September 2 — just weeks after Angara took the helm over Vice President Sara Duterte. She resigned as DepEd chief.
During the discussions, DepEd Director Ferdinand Pitagan confirmed that only P2.18 billion out of the P11.36-billion fund for computers 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