(Bloomberg) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday signed the Philippines’ 6.3 trillion peso ($109 billion) budget for 2025 after vetoing some public works and standby funding.
Marcos said he used his veto powers on 194 billion pesos of allocations after a thorough review of the spending bill approved by Congress. A cash aid program that was questioned for supposedly being vulnerable to political influence will be implemented conditionally, according to the president.
“We must exercise maximum prudence. Otherwise, we run the risk of increasing our deficit and derailing our development agenda,” Marcos said after signing the budget in front of lawmakers and Cabinet officials at the presidential palace.
The budget — a key driver of Philippine growth — drew closer-than-normal scrutiny in the past few weeks, with midterm elections to be held next year.
The signing ceremony was delayed for more than a week after Education Secretary Sonny Angara raised concerns over his department’s budget, which he said was lower than was proposed due to cuts in allocations for computers. The initial budget included significantly higher funding for public works and highways, which was subsequently trimmed back.
Over the weekend, the Makati Business Club, which counts senior executives of the nation’s biggest companies as members, expressed alarm over provisions in the 2025 spending bill, in particular the higher funding for public works, and questioned the need for extra money going to Congress.
Marcos was originally scheduled to sign the budget on Dec. 20, but the government announced a delay to “allow more time for a rigorous and exhaustive review” of the spending package.
–With assistance from Ditas Lopez.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
