malaysiangManila: The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the proposed PHP10.5-billion budget of the Office of the President (OP) for 2025, with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in attendance to represent the office during the plenary deliberation.
The period of sponsorship and interpellation for the OP’s budget lasted for 33 minutes with only two interpellators – ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro and Northern Samar 1st District Rep. Paul Daza.
In his speech, House Appropriations Committee vice chair and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco cited the importance of executive-legislative collaboration to ensure that the country’s interests are advanced and essential government services are delivered to the people.
“The presence here today of the Honorable Executive Secretary and of the senior officials of the Office of the President manifests the continued cooperation between our branches in upholding our mutual objective of promoting the welfare of our people and the country’s interests,” Tiangco said.
T
iangco underscored the need for continued legislative support to help President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. achieve these objectives.
“As the President values the cooperation between our branches in the fulfillment of our common goal of development, it is but appropriate for us to likewise show our support to a presidency that constantly advances the interests of our nation and strives to deliver good government services for the good of our people,” he said.
Tiangco said the proposed 2025 budget for the OP is 1.88 percent lower than the previous year’s allocation, noting that the reduction is a reflection of the administration’s commitment to delivering services “prudently and economically.”
“Despite the reduction of the proposed budget of the Office of the President for fiscal year 2025, the President through the Executive Secretary assures us that the same will not affect the delivery of services of the President to the people,” he said.
As the central policy hub of the government, Tiangco highlighted the O
ffice of the President’s crucial role in supporting the Chief Executive in his constitutional duties as head of state, head of government, chief architect of foreign policy, and Commander-in-Chief.
“Thus, it is only fitting that we complement the same by providing the necessary budget for the President to fulfill his sacred mandate for the people, whom we are all accountable to,” he said.
Tiangco also praised the Office of the President’s responsible fiscal management, noting its “unmodified opinion” from the Commission on Audit as proof of its accountable use of public funds.
The proposed budget of the Office of the President constitutes “a mere 1/9th of 1 percent of the total national budget,” he said.
Despite this modest share, Tiangco said the administration’s work had produced results that have been “positively felt by the people.”
“More money does not always mean more services or better performance. With the Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance espoused by the President, this chamber is assured tha
t the government is always mindful of the need to fulfill his constitutional mandate with less financial requirement but with the same quality results,” he said.
OPAPRU budget
The House also approved the proposed budget of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) amounting to PHP7.095 billion.
Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. thanked the members of Congress under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez for supporting the approval of OPAPRU’s 2025 peace budget.
‘The approval of our agency’s budget is a validation that the national government’s peace agenda is on the right track and continues to gain momentum. Moreover, it is a vote of confidence in our peacebuilding efforts,’ Galvez said.
He said the 2025 budget is an ‘investment for peace,’ which is crucial in sustaining the transformation of former combatants, their families, and communities, and ensuring the implementation of all signed peace agreements.
‘We are determined to maxim
ize every centavo of this allocation to ensure the consistent implementation of the country’s comprehensive peace process,’ Galvez said.
He thanked Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, who serves as vice chairperson of the Committee of Appropriations, for sponsoring and defending OPAPRU’s proposed budget.
The bulk of OPAPRU’s proposed PHP7.5 billion budget for 2025 will be allocated for projects under its PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) Program.
PAMANA is a comprehensive, cross-cutting development program of the Philippine government designed to address the root causes of conflict in isolated, hard-to-reach peace and development focus areas in the country.
Source: Philippines News Agency
