House approves P6.352 trillion 2025 budget bill on second reading

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved House Bill (HB) No. 10800, which contains the P6.352 trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2025, on the second reading, after adopting the amendments proposed by the committee on appropriations.

During the session on Wednesday, the bill was approved via viva voce or voice voting.

Committee amendments from the appropriations panel were also approved, which includes a proposal to cut the Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget from P2.037 billion to P733 million.

READ: OVP budget cut from P2 billion to P733 million by House panel

The OVP was originally allocated a P2.037 billion budget under the National Expenditures Program (NEP), but lawmakers from the House decided to cut this down to just P733 million due to Duterte’s behavior and revelations that some OVP programs suffered from low budget utilization.

During the budget deliberations, it was also revealed that some OVP programs suffered from low utilization, like in the case of Magnegosyo Ta Day where only 0.04 percent of funds — P600,000 out of P150 million — as of December 2023 were used.

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READ: OVP hit for using only 0.4% of its Magnegosyo Ta Day funds

The House is expected to approve the proposed P6.352 trillion budget for 2025 on Wednesday before it goes on a break.  On Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. certified the budget bill as urgent, allowing the House to approve it on second reading and third reading on the same day.