Marcos economic team sets 2025 national budget at P6.2 trillion

The Marcos administration’s economic managers have set a more than P6-trillion budget program for the government’s spending initiatives next year.

At a Palace briefing on Thursday, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan announced that the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) “proposes a national budget of P6.2 trillion for Fiscal Year 2025.”

Next year’s proposed national expenditure budget is equivalent to 21.4% of gross domestic product (GDP). It is also 7.5% higher than this year’s budget of P5.768 trillion.

The DBCC, chaired by the Budget chief, is an interagency body tasked to review and approve macroeconomic targets, revenue projects, borrowing levels, and budget and expenditure ceilings.

It is also composed of the secretaries of the NEDA and the Department of Finance (DOF), as well as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Balisacan said next year’s national budget will “remain focused on delivering high-impact and transformative public infrastructure projects and essential social services, especially for the poor and vulnerable.”

“The budget shall support the Marcos Administration's Build-Better-More Program to stay on course and maintain infrastructure spending between 5% to 6% of GDP from 2024 through 2028,” he said.

Sought for further details, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told GMA News Online that the government “will continue to align our budget prioritization with the Philippine Development Plan, geared towards addressing the continuing need for social services while propelling the country to upper middle income status, especially the Build Better More infrastructure program which will ultimately set the environment to make the Philippines an investment destination.”

“We will continue to future-proof the country through digitalization and accelerate our programs for inclusivity, providing more targeted social services and developing the regions, especially BARMM,” Pangandaman said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News