By Liezelle Soriano
MANILA — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) on Monday (December 30, 2024), vetoing over P194 billion in line items deemed “inconsistent with the administration’s priority programs.”
The national budget for 2025, initially pegged at P6.352 trillion, was reduced to P6.326 trillion, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
“While the final version of the budget reflects many of our shared priorities, some provisions required careful scrutiny. The Filipino people have spoken: every centavo must go to programs that truly uplift lives, strengthen communities, and secure the future development of the Philippines,” Marcos said.
“We take our role as stewards of taxpayers’ money seriously. After an exhaustive and thorough review, we have directly vetoed over P194 billion worth of line items that are not consistent with our programmed priorities,” he added.
Of the P194 billion, P26.065 billion worth of projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were vetoed, along with P168.240 billion allocated for “Unprogrammed Appropriations.”
The Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), will also be implemented.
The signing of the budget was initially scheduled for December 20 but was delayed for further review of its provisions.
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