Harvey Sabado

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. approved a proposed ₱6.35 trillion national budget for 2025 by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) during a cabinet meeting at Malacañang on Tuesday, July 2.


The proposal, presented by DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman during a cabinet meeting, is 10.1% higher than the 2024 budget of ₱5.768 trillion – equivalent to 22% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

According to a press release from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the National Expenditure Program (NEP) will be utilized to support the administration’s goals, such as food security, social protection, healthcare, housing, disaster resilience, infrastructure projects, digital connectivity and energization.

“Since I’ve seen it before on the macro level, I think the priorities in terms of our proposed appropriations, upon addressing it, weighted our priorities properly in terms of appropriation,” Marcos said, expressing confidence in the proposed budget’s priorities. 

The PCO also noted that the 2025 NEP plans allocate the most funds to key government agencies, like the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Defense. 

As of this writing, there is no information yet about the amount distributed among the said agencies.

The PCO also highlights the crucial factors considered when evaluating the national budget, including available fiscal space, project readiness, agency capacity to absorb the funds, alignment with the Budget Priorities Framework, and the President’s Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028. 

The Public Investment Program (PIP), Three-Year Infrastructure Program (TRIP), Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP), and Program Convergence were also mentioned as important considerations.

According to Pangandaman, the executive branch plans to submit the proposed NEP to the House of Representatives for scrutiny on July 29, one week after Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address.