Imee Marcos: Reenacted budget better than 'very bad' 2025 budget bill

Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday said she was more open to a reenacted budget for a few weeks in January than to pass the current version of the 2025 national budget bill, which she tagged as "very, very bad."

The lawmaker made the remark as she insisted on the need to return the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to Congress for the bicameral conference committee to amend some supposed objectionable provisions.

"Yes," Marcos said during the Kapihan sa Senado when asked if she is more open to a reenacted budget.

"Pero para sa akin hindi kailangan umabot sa reenacted budget. Kayang habulin to eh. May araw pa (But for me, it should not reach to the point that we will have a reenacted budget because we can still fix this. We have a few days before the year ends)," she added.

Marcos said, "This is a very, very bad budget. Talagang ito ay labag sa consti, labag sa ilang batas at labag sa damdamin at pangangailangan ng tao (This is a very, very bad budget. This really goes against the Constitution, several laws, and the sentiments and needs of our people)."

The lawmaker reiterated that this would not be the first time that the Executive Department would ask the Legislative Department to fix a proposed law before the President's signing as she cited the Magna Carta for Seafarers and the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, among others.

"Kung ibalik naman ito sa bicam, hindi naman ganun katindi o ganun kasama ang delay kasi may pagsisimulan ka, 'yung budget ng Pangulo in the first place, 'yung NEP (National Expenditure Program). Pagkatapos 'yung controversial items, 'yun lang naman 'yung tututkan," she said.

(If they return the budget bill to the bicam, that would not require exhaustive deliberations because we have the NEP as a basis and we will only fix the controversial items.)

"Kung saka-sakali pinakamalala na 'to hindi magkasundo hanggang January, magre-reenacted budget ka on a per month basis. Eh di mahahabol pa. Hindi naman ganon katindi. As soon as a proper budget has been finalized, eh di 'yun na ang papalit sa 2024 budget," she added.

(If worse comes to worst and we will not reach an agreement until January, then we will operate under a reenacted budget on a per month basis. We can still work on the 2025 budget and as soon as a proper budget has been finalized, then that will replace the 2024 budget.)

The senator's position came after her brother, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., said earlier in the day that returning the ratified 2025 GAB to Congress is not part of the legislative procedure.

"There is no procedure to return it to the bicam. It's finished in Congress. So it's up to us now to look at the items and to see what are appropriate, what are relevant, and what are the priorities," the President said, maintaining that the 2025 national budget bill would be signed before the year ends.

Following the President's remarks, Senator Marcos appealed to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin to recommit the ratified 2025 GAB to the bicameral conference committee like what he did before in other laws.

"Kaya nananawagan ako kay Secretary Bersamin, alam naman natin na technically, legally, and perhaps literally (I am calling on Secretary Bersamin, we all know that technically, legally, and perhaps literally), the only power remaining with the President with regard to a budget is simply a veto, a line item veto. However, the Executive Secretary has more than one occasion already urged the restoration of the budget of a law to the bicam committee. Paulit-ulit na nakita na natin 'yan (we've repeatedly seen that before)," she said.

"Ako ay nangangamba at kinakabahan na baka naman hindi tama ang payo sa aking kapatid (I am afraid that the advice given to my brother is incorrect)... Technically, I think the President is absolutely right that in fact, once the bill has been endorsed to him and it's already on his table, all he can do is veto line by line the budget. However, the reality is time and again... It has occurred that the Executive has enjoined the legislature to take a second look at their bicam report when it is unacceptable, perhaps unimplementable or otherwise requires further study," she added.

For Senator Marcos, a line item veto will do no good, especially to the items which she deemed as questionable, particularly the zero subsidy for PhilHealth, the P50-billion cut in the budget for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and the higher budgetary allocation to DPWH than the education sector.

GMA News Online sought the comment of Bersamin on the senator's remark, but he has yet to respond as of posting time. — VDV, GMA Integrated News