The Senate has approved the proposed national budget of P6.352 trillion for 2025, with 18 votes in favor, no votes against, and one abstention.
Senate Finance Committee Chairperson Senator Grace Poe expressed her gratitude to her fellow senators for their contributions in reviewing the budget, as well as to the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) and her staff for their roles in the final committee report.
“This proposal did not come easy. Many hours and sleepless nights were invested to ensure that every essential program and project would receive adequate funding,” she said in her closing remarks.
“Every peso we allocate to this budget is not just a number on paper; it represents the lives, dreams, and future of every Filipino. In every sector we support—from agriculture to education, and from health to security—our promise to the people is that no one will be left behind and no one will be neglected to the best of our ability,” she emphasized.
The Senate’s approval followed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s certification of the bill as urgent, allowing it to bypass the usual three-day interval between readings.
The proposed budget is 10.1% higher than the current allocation of P5.768 trillion. It includes P4.406 trillion in new appropriations for development initiatives and P2.105 trillion in automatic appropriations.
The budget aims to drive economic and social transformation, positioning the Philippines as a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient nation.
In this budget approval, the Senate voted to remove the House-introduced P39-billion allocation for the Ayuda para sa Kapos at Kita Program (AKAP), which provides cash aid to minimum wage workers.
Poe said the budgets for the Office of the Vice President and the AKAP program will be addressed during the deliberations of the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) scheduled for November 28-30.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III abstained from the vote.
