DOE wants bigger budget for 2025

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) hopes to secure a bigger budget allocation for next year to advance its electrification program and policy studies, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

“We have always tried to get a bigger budget, and there are, of course, many things to which this can be applied, for example, the total electrification program of the government,” Lotilla said in a recent interview.

Under the General Appropriations Act of 2024, the DOE’s budget is P1.66 billion, earmarked for operations and various national and regional planning and development programs.

In addition to the appropriated amount, about P896 million would be allocated to finance energy resource development programs, the release of which is subject to the submission of a special budget.

“We have always proposed a bigger budget, but we are also realistic that because of financial constraints, historically, the budget of the department has hardly grown and it has remained steady over P2 billion,” the secretary said.

According to Lotilla, an additional budget for the DOE could be used to expand rooftop solar for government agencies to help them reduce their reliance on the grid and lower their power costs.

The bigger funding could also be applied for policy studies to help develop market mechanisms.

During a budget hearing in September last year, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian lamented the meager budget allocation for the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission, which only amounted to over P3 billion.

“Just imagine P3.1 billion, but in their hands lies the future of our energy sector as well as the regulation of our energy sector,” said Gatchalian, who also currently serves as the vice chairman of the Senate committee on energy.

Among the government agencies, the Department of Education received the highest budget of P924.7 billion this year. This is followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Health, with P822.2 billion and P306.1 billion, respectively.

The biggest appropriation of the approved P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024 was earmarked for social and economic services sectors in line with the Marcos administration’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda.