Marcos to delay the national budget release until after 2025 midterm polls

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. can classify all Congress-introduced amendments in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) as "for later release" or FLR, former Senate president Franklin Drilon stated on January 1, 2025, to prevent the use of billions in public funds from being used by politicians for the 2025 elections.

This move aims to maintain the integrity of the election process and ensure that public funds are used appropriately.

The Omnibus Election Code prohibits public funds release, disbursement, or expenditure for public works starting 45 days before election day.

In a statement released on January 1, 2024, Drilon proposed as criticized President Marcos' vetoes of certain items in the 2025 national budget, calling them "cosmetic" and stating that they barely touched the "pork barrels" of legislators, particularly in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

"In my opinion, the pork barrel of the congressmen has not been fixed. There is still a big pork barrel left in the GAA," Drilon said in a radio interview.

"There is not much change. The pork barrel is still big in the DPWH," he added.

He also proposed classifying all Congress-introduced amendments in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) as "for later release" (FLR) to prevent the budget from being used for election-related spending. 

"The 2025 budget is considered an election-year budget. Hence, we must be vigilant. The budget should not be a tool in aid of the 2025 elections," Drilon said.

Delaying the release of the controversial appropriations could "prevent the budget from being perceived as a tool for election-related spending," he also stated.

This would ensure compliance with the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds for public works and the delivery of construction materials, starting March 28 or 45 days before election day, as he added.

The FLR mechanism is a practice implemented by the Department of Budget and Management during the previous administration. 

Under this approach, Congress-introduced amendments not part of the President's National Expenditure Program are classified as FLR, requiring compliance with specific conditions before funds are released.

Drilon argues that subjecting Congress-introduced amendments to the FLR classification will assure the public that government funds will not be used as leverage for election purposes.

He tagged the President's vetoing of ₱168 billion in Unprogrammed Fund (UF) allocations as "cosmetic" since these standby appropriations lack funding unless additional revenues are generated.

"The veto of unprogrammed activities is a cosmetic, more than anything else, as programmed revenues do not support the unprogrammed activities and projects," Drion said.

While ₱26 billion worth of DPWH projects were vetoed, leaving a total of ₱263.9 billion in congressional insertions, Drilon said the overall amount of insertions across the budget remains significant at ₱347 billion.

Drilon said that only ₱26 billion reverted to the Treasury means only that amount is available to restore the funding of de-funded projects in the National Expenditure Program (NEP). This leaves key programs like the ₱74.4-billion subsidy for PhilHealth and the ₱50 billion for the 4Ps unlikely to be restored.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to use Official Development Assistance (ODA) to address its 2025 budget shortfall of ₱237.4 billion.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. highlighted President Marcos's support and the large allocation for the DA in the national budget.

Laurel emphasized implementing key projects such as cold storage and solar irrigation and adjusting the planting calendar to mitigate typhoon impacts and improve agricultural output. 

Additionally, the DA will collaborate with Landbank and DBP to fund the Agri-Puhunan Program with ₱200 million.

The DA's Agri-Puhunan program will provide ₱60,000 per farmer, allocating ₱28,000 for inputs and ₱32,000 for monthly support, with a condition to adjust the planting calendar, targeting 100,000 farmers. 

With a 2025 budget of ₱279.1 billion, the DILG pledged responsible spending to enhance local governance, peace, and public safety. 

Meanwhile, the NEA received ₱1.87 billion for rural electrification, aiming to provide electricity to 22,000 households in 2025 and increase nationwide electrification to 94%, with a goal of 100% by 2027.