House starts budget plenary debates

THE House of Representatives will start plenary debates on Monday, September 16, on the P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025. Plenary debates are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that the outlay would back the Agenda for Prosperity and Bagong Pilipinas programs of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "It will be our instrument in directly helping the poor through various social protection, financial aid and medical programs and in keeping food prices down, particularly the price of rice, which has fallen to P42 a kilo," Romualdez said. Through the budget, "we hope to help our farmers and fisher folk increase their harvest, which in turn will mean adequate food supply and lower prices for the benefit of all Filipinos," he added. The proposed spending program, he said, "will also serve as our roadmap for expanding infrastructure and supporting education by funding the building of more road networks and classrooms, especially in underserved communities." "It will be our tool for sustaining our country's economic growth, which we hope to keep at 6 percent or higher in line with the forecasts of international lending institutions," he added. The House Committee on Appropriations finished its meetings with government offices to craft the 2025 national budget bill last week. Romualdez thanked Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, committee chairman, and Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, committee senior vice chairman, for endorsing the budget on time. The deliberations on the budget bill will start with Co's sponsorship speech. Lawmakers will tackle the budgets of the Department of Finance, Department of Justice, National Economic and Development Authority, and judiciary. On Tuesday, the House is scheduled to debate the budgets of the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Human Rights, including the Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Tourism, and Development of Labor and Employment. On Wednesday, the budgets of the Commission on Elections, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Trade and Industry, executive offices, and state colleges and universities will be tackled, while on Thursday, it will be the budgets of the Department of National Defense, Department of Migrant Workers, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The House will also deliberate on budgetary support for certain government corporations. On Friday, lawmakers will debate the budgets of the Presidential Communications Office, Department of Science and Technology, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, other executive offices, and other government corporations. On September 23, the House will hold debates on the budgets of the Office of the Vice President, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Energy, and other executive offices.