House aims to approve P6.352-trillion 2025 budget on final reading tonight

The House of Representatives aims to approve the P6.352-trillion national budget for fiscal year 2025 on third and final reading on Wednesday night, September 25.

Speaker Martin Romualdez announced during a Palace briefing that the bill will be ready for transmission to the Senate shortly after passage.

The proposed budget includes significant cuts to the Office of the Vice President by 64% to P733 million from P2.03 billion due to project redundancies with Health and Social Welfare departments, with reallocations equally split between both.

Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero committed that the Senate will pass its version of the proposed national budget before year-end, ensuring sufficient time for the President's review.

Despite overall reductions in funding for agriculture (4.7%), health (-7.6%), and social welfare (-3.4%), Romualdez expressed hope that Filipinos would feel the benefits of growth through socioeconomic priority programs funded by the budget.