Bicam members defend cuts for DepEd, PhilHealth in 2025 budget
Lawmakers have defended the bicameral conference committee's decision to make cuts in the proposed 2025 budget for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and Department of Education (DepEd).
P10 billion was slashed from the DepEd's computerization budget for 2025, which Education Secretary Sonny Angara decried. He said a total of P12 billion was cut from the proposed P748.65 billion allocation.
Meanwhile, the bicam decided that PhilHealth will not get additional subsidy from the national government in next year's budget, with Sen. Grace Poe citing the unutilized P600 billion fund as the primary reason for the denial.
DepEd
"Tuwing nagbabalangkas tayo ng budget, hindi ito parang grocery list na lahat ng kailangan natin, ipasok natin kaagad. Hindi lang natin tinitingnan ang ano'ng kailangan pag-gastusan, inaaral din natin ano ang kapasidad ng ahensyang ito gastusin ‘yung perang binigay sa kanila. And the numbers won't lie… Congress simply had to do this very delicate work of balancing interests, lalong-lalo na kung limitado ang fiscal space available sa atin,” House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Jude Acidre said.
He added that one of the reasons DepEd's budget was decreased was due to the agency's low utilization rate.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, citing a Commission on Audit report, said that DepEd disbursed only P2.075 billion of its P11.36 billion 2023 budget for ICT equipment.
"So talagang noong nakaraang mga panahon, naging notorious ang DepEd sa pagiging delayed nila sa kanilang mga procurement, at lalong-lalo na ‘yung pag-uphold nila ng transparency and accountability, kaya dapat talagang ipakita ng Department of Education ngayon na talagang nagbago na sila at dapat mai-improve talaga nila ‘yong paggastos ng pondo ng ating pamahalaan nang responsable,”
“Working with finite resources to fund infinite needs is not an easy choice, but what we have reflects the careful decisions made within the constraints we face. We reiterate that the education sector remains a priority, as we have increased the budget for students and teachers,” Poe said in a statement.
On Dec. 16, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would find a way to restore the P10 billion cut from the education sector's budget.
"I think it is contrary to all our policy direction when we talk about the (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) development of our educational sector," Marcos Jr. said.
PhilHealth
On the other hand, lawmakers said PhilHealth has "more than enough funds" for next year.
"Kung dadagdagan natin ulit ‘yun, edi lalaki ulit ‘yung inefficiency. We’re not saying that we’re not going to fund PhilHealth forever," Acidre said. "Sinasabi lang natin, ayusin natin, habang ganito lang."
Marcos echoed this, saying that the state insurer has "sufficient budget to do all the things they want to do."
"The reason why we do not want to subsidize is because the subsidy, uupo lang sa bank account ng PhilHealth. Hindi magagamit…That’s the simple explanation. They have sufficient funds to carry on," the president said.
Budget increase
According to the bicam report, the House of Representative's proposed budget for 2025 increased from P16.3 billion to P33.67 billion.
The increase, Acidre said, would be used to improve the House's infrastructure.
"This is a 19080s facility and a lot has changed since then. Dati ilan lang silang members ng Batasan Pambansa, ngayon may mahigit 300 na kasama. Patuloy din ang pagkumpleto ng gusali ng Senado at malamang kasama din doon sa adjustments na ginawa sa budget ng buong Kongreso," he said.
The Department of Public Works and Highways also saw a budget increase from P825.11 billion to P1.11 trillion.
"We have 3.5 years left. We have to get these things done. We have to get all the structures in place already,” Marcos said.
The president said he is set to sign the General Appropriations Bill into law before Christmas.
