THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) expressed caution about reenacting the “most corrupt” 2025 budget, but added that preparations are underway in case President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. follows through on his warnings to Congress not to deviate significantly from the Executive branch’s spending priorities.
“Hopefully not, because if the 2025 budget is reenacted… it’s the most corrupt kind of budget. So why reenact it?” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said, responding to a question about the likelihood of a reenacted budget.
Nevertheless, the DBM is preparing rules that will govern operations in case the President refuses to sign the budget bill, she said. If no budget is in place by the new year, the government automatically reverts to the preceding year’s spending plan, which is typically smaller and is focused on priorities that could have changed.
The 2025 budget drew a Presidential veto covering P194 billion worth of spending items, and raised concerns over the size of the public works allocations. The Constitution requires governments to make education their top spending priority.
“I’ve instructed our legal team and budget operations team to start drafting the guidelines in case we need to operate under a reenacted budget,” Ms. Pangandaman told reporters on the sidelines of an inspection tour of public works in Pampanga on Aug. 4.
“Even now, my colleagues in the economic team and I are focused on this. Assuming a reenacted budget, what is the proper process that agencies should follow to request new programs and projects?” she told DZBB radio last week.
Ms. Pangandaman noted the absence of a formal framework for agencies to follow under a reenacted budget scenario.
The last major reenacted budget crisis was in 2019 under President Rodrigo R. Duterte, during which the government operated under the P3.757-trillion national budget from 2018. The 2019 budget bill was signed four months later.
Ms. Pangandaman remains confident that Mr. Marcos will sign the General Appropriations Bill before the year ends.
She also told reporters during the Pampanga event that the Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects classified as unprogrammed appropriations are those with no “perfected contract” yet.
“Actually, (ODA projects) should be included in the program. Everything in the President’s budget is included in the program. What we put in the unprogrammed (category is) very minimal, those without a perfected contract,” Ms. Pangandaman said.
According to the recent ODA Portfolio Review Report, unprogrammed appropriations played a “critical role” in addressing funding shortfalls for ODA project implementation.
Unprogrammed appropriations are those with no clear sources of funding, and will be financed only if government revenue exceeds targets.
In the proposed 2026 budget, the government is proposing a 26.08% reduction in flood-control funding to P274.9 billion, against the P346.6 billion allocation in the 2025 GAA. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
