The House of Representatives is confident of approving the 2025 national budget before the October recess, as promised by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, citing the early submission of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the vigorous efforts of its members.
In a press conference July 30, House majority leader Manuel Jose Dalipe and senior deputy speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. emphasized the importance of adhering to the timeline to ensure that the Senate has ample time to review the measure.
“Every budget process is very challenging. As much as possible, we want to work on deadline and transmit it before the October break,” Dalipe said.
“Our counterparts in the Senate also have to work on it, so we are aiming to approve the House General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on third reading by the third or fourth week of September,” added the representative of Zamboanga City’s 2nd District.
According to the legislative calendar, Congress will be on recess from Sept. 28 to Nov. 3.
Dalipe said the efficient work being done by the chair and the different vice chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, along with the active participation of the minority in the budget deliberations, “gives us confidence that we can meet this deadline.”
For his part, Gonzales noted that all House members are currently busy reviewing the budget.
“Yesterday (July 29), we received copies of the NEP, and all Congress members are now very busy. They are reviewing each agency’s budget as we tackle it next week,” Gonzales, who represents Pampanga’s 3rd District in Congress, said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through the Department of Budget and Management, submitted the P6.352-trillion NEP to Congress three weeks ahead of the constitutional mandate timeline. This prompt submission has been lauded both by Dalipe and Gonzales.
“We congratulate the PBBM administration for submitting it three weeks ahead of schedule. With that, we can start the ball rolling,” Dalipe said.
“The instruction of the House leadership is for the Committee on Appropriations to start with the budget briefings without any delay. By next week, we will begin the budget briefing of the 2025 NEP,” he said in a press release from the Office of Romualdez.
The budget briefing will start on Aug. 5 with the Development Budget Coordinating Council (DBCC), which includes the DBM, the Department of Finance, and other agencies involved in the budget creation.
“We will not delay things. We are eager to start deliberation, and the members of the House are ready to scrutinize the proposed budget presented by President Bongbong Marcos,” Dalipe said.
Citing the significance of the timely submission, Gonzales said, “As far as I know, this is the first for the President to submit the budget three weeks ahead. I would like to congratulate our President and our Speaker.”
“The early submission allows us to start the briefing on Monday with the DBCC, chaired by Rep. Zaldy Co. We will scrutinize the budget thoroughly,” Gonzales added. ||
