MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is scheduled to sign the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) into law on December 30.
According to Presidential Communications Office (PCO) acting Secretary Cesar Chavez, the signing of the 2025 GAB would be held after the commemorative events for Rizal Day.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, for his part, said President Marcos and his Cabinet are still thoroughly reviewing the various items of the budget “to make them conform to the Constitution, and to see to it that the budget prioritizes the main legacy thrusts of the Administration.”
“The President has been most prudent in programming and spending of our limited fiscal resources,” Bersamin said in a statement on Thursday.
Once signed by the Chief Executive, the 2025 GAB will be known as the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
President Marcos was supposed to sign the proposed P6.352 trillion 2025 national budget before Christmas, but he decided to delay it for an extensive review of its provisions.
The President has been constantly meeting with his key Cabinet officials to review the national budget that was passed by Congress for projects that were not part of the government’s National Expenditure Plan.
Marcos also dismissed the possibility of returning the bill to the bicameral conference committee for revisions, and said he will exercise his veto power on certain line items and provisions that are not priorities and can be deferred for now.
The Congress earlier ratified the 2025 national budget, retaining the P733 million budget of the Office of the Vice President; reduced the budget of the Department of Education by P10 billion; and allocated P26 billion for the Ayuda para sa Kapos and Kita Program./PN
