CIFs down 16% in 2025 budget

Transcript

00:00Although next year's proposed government spending is 10.12% more than this year's,

00:05there are some interesting, though not surprising, spending cuts in the 2025 National Expenditure

00:10Program, especially on the top sector allocations to include education, public works and highways,

00:17and health. Our Soojin Kim has the details to include the 16% slash on Confidential and

00:24Intelligence Fund allocations. Confidential and Intelligence Funds are down 16% in the

00:32proposed national budget compared to its allocation in the General Appropriations Act.

00:36For fiscal year 2025, DBM Secretary Mina Pangandaman approved a 10.29 billion peso budget,

00:43which is a significant slide from 12.38 billion pesos. Meanwhile, total unprogrammed appropriations

00:50is at 158.67 billion pesos, including the budget for support to foreign-assisted

00:56projects whose approval is pending with the ICC and NEDA boards. It's definitely

01:03lower than the General Appropriations Act. Secretary Pangandaman maintains safeguarding

01:11mechanisms are in place to ensure unprogrammed appropriations will not be misused. Moreover,

01:16budget for flood control projects was raised to 305.1 billion pesos. In fact, the top five

01:22departments with the most increase in their national expenditure budgets are the Departments

01:26of Transportation, Education, Interior and Local Government, National Defense and Agriculture.

01:32The 107 billion peso or 145% increase in the DOTR's budget will mostly be utilized for the

01:40Department's railway projects. Bulk of it, 63 billion, 63.9 billion will go to North-South

01:48Commuter Railway System and then another 39 billion for Metro Manila Subway Project.

01:55On the other hand, the proposed budgets for the Departments of Public Works and Highways,

01:59Health, Labor and Employment for state universities and colleges and the House

02:03of Representatives have been slashed. Secretary Pangandaman reiterates there will still be a

02:08one and a quarter billion peso budget for the Cancer Assistance Fund. The fund will cover costs

02:14for outpatient and inpatient cancer services including diagnostics, treatments and cancer

02:21medicines. She also underscores a 50 billion peso budget under the NEP for the AFP modernization.

02:29Overall budget for the Department of National Defense stands at 204.37 billion pesos.

02:36The DBM adds that the current government spending at 2.76 trillion pesos is 14.6% higher than that

02:43of last year. The Department attributes this in part to its budget management reforms for

02:48implementing agencies. Also, current fiscal debt to GDP ratio is consistent with the DBCC's target

02:55for 2025. The Philippines has a total net financing deficit of 1.48 trillion pesos.

03:01Soojin Kim from the National TV Network for the New and Better Philippines.