Congress leaders vow to pass budget bill on time

Leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday assured the public that Congress could approve the proposed PHP 6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 on time, despite political realignments and tension inside their backyards.

At the same time, the two chambers seek to pass several priority measures by December, including a bill allowing foreign investors to lease land for up to 99 years from 75 years.

Senate President Francis Joseph G. Escudero said committee hearings in the upper chamber were “right on schedule,” paving the way for a smooth approval of the budget bill.

“We expect it to be approved with enough time for it to be read and reviewed by the President in relation to the line-item vetoes he can make on the budget bill and sign it into law before the end of the year,” he said, referring to the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act.

“We held budget hearings on the different budget proposals of each department in the Senate simultaneously with the House, and we are also waiting for the House to approve their version of the General Appropriations Bill so deliberations on the 2025 budget can start in the Senate plenary.”

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said the lower chamber was scheduled to pass the budget bill on third and final reading on Wednesday night.

It would be ready for transmission in short order to the Senate, he added.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has certified as urgent the proposed 2025 national budget, which is 9.5% higher than P5.268 trillion this year.

Despite Senate investigations into several issues including Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators’ ties to criminal syndicates, Mr. Escudero said they will be able to pass the budget bill on time.

“Has it ever not been passed by the Senate on time, regardless of which year? It has always been passed by the Senate on time before we went on recess,” he said.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high over the refusal of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio to appear before congressmen during budget deliberations. She had also refused to send authorized representatives.

Asked what would happen to the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice-President, Mr. Romualdez said the House “would take the matter up shortly.”

Arjan P. Aguirre, who teaches politics at the Ateneo de Manila University, said passing next year’s budget on time and without delays would provide good optics — politics-wise — ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.

It could mean that the “government is very much in control in handling the economy,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. It could also signal that the administration has stable resources for its political machinery.

The two Congress leaders were in Malacañang on Wednesday for the Sixth Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting, which earlier committed to prioritize 28 bills for approval by June 2025.

Mr. Romualdez said the House has accomplished all but two of the administration’s priority legislative measures, such as the proposed amendments to the Foreign Investor Long-Term Lease Act and Agrarian Reform law.

“We are confident that before the year ends, we shall have finished all by December,” he said, referring to the two bills.

Mr. Escudero said the Senate also hopes to approve the two bills by December, along with proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 and the Universal Health Care Act of 2019.

The bill creating a Water Resources department is also among the priorities this year, he added.

Some of these five bills, three of which have been passed by the House, were awaiting “completion of a reconciled version” from the Executive branch, according to the Senate leader, who is facing threats of ouster from his colleagues.

Hansley A. Juliano, who teaches politics at the Ateneo de Manila University, said it’s concerning that the proposal to amend the Foreign Investor Long-Term Lease Act has been considered a priority measure without significant public discussions.

“For it to be brought in without serious public discussion in this vein (essentially an insertion) raises massive alarm bells on sovereignty and citizens’ ownership,” he said, noting that the bill was similar to the Parity Rights arrangement the Philippines had with the United States in the pre-Marcos Sr. era.

“Why exactly do they need to operate on the level of leasing when many global businesses and operations may not even necessarily need massive physical spaces here anymore?” he asked.

Mr. Aguire said the priority bills were “arguably materials for propaganda and campaigning in the leadup to the 2025 elections.”

“The urgency somewhat makes sense, but it also belies once again the attitude of the bulk of our district representatives to not be consultative of the larger public.”

Leonardo A. Lanzona, who teaches economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, said Congress should first approve the budget bill before considering other new bills.

“There seems to be a measure of irresponsibility if the aim of Congress is to pass as many laws as possible without considering the effects of such laws on the budget that is still in fact being completed,” he said.

“Passing new bills that are incongruent to the budget would lead either to new expenditures or possible inaction in these laws, which are worse than having no new laws at all.”

Separately, the Palace said Mr. Marcos had sought the “immediate passage” of the Waste-to-Energy bill during the LEDAC meeting.

“We have to look at it in a more urgent sense because it really becomes such an important part of the flood control program,” he said at the meeting, based on a press release from the Palace.

The bill, which has been passed by the House on final reading, is still pending in the Senate.

Mr. Marcos noted that waste-to-energy projects have reduced flooding by 40%. It has to be implemented at the local government level, he added.

“I think waste-to-energy now has taken on a new role. It is no longer just for garbage, or waste disposal or waste management.  It is also now very much part of the flood control effort,” he said. – Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter