DOTr’s 2025 budget P20 billion short of target

MANILA, Philippines — A number of mobility projects and their social components may have to wait for further funding as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) was given an appropriation for 2025 that is short by P20 billion from what it originally proposed.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista told reporters the DOTr could miss out on programs and projects worth more than P20 billion next year.

Bautista said some infrastructure projects, including their social components, were left out in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) prepared by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and approved by President Marcos.

“Our original budget proposal was bigger. If I remember correctly, our budget will be short by more than P20 billion,” Bautista said.

The DOTr wants to raise the equity subsidy extended by the government to public utility vehicle (PUV) operators purchasing modern jeepneys. The subsidy plays a crucial role in the push to upgrade public transport through the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP).

In 2023, the DOTr increased the subsidy to P280,000 per unit, from P160,000 previously, for the procurement of PUVs under Class 2, 3 and 4 categories.

Likewise, the DOTr gives out a subsidy of P210,000 per unit for the purchase of Class 1 units.

“The [budget shortfall for 2025] covers infrastructure projects and social components, including in the PUVMP. We had wanted a bigger equity subsidy. That was excluded,” Bautista said.

Within the Cabinet level, the DBM has instructed agencies that they can make adjustments in the programs and projects to be funded by their allocated budget. However, they must remove some undertakings to be able to redirect capital for another.

“We can request to include or exclude more important projects, but since we have a limited fiscal space, our budget is fixed in amount. For example, if we fail to get financing for PUVMP or fuel subsidy program, we can request from the DBM but (we have to) deduct it from another project,” Bautista said.

For this year, the DOTr received a budget of P41.21 billion, the bulk of which at P26.03 billion is intended for locally funded projects such as airport upgrades and new seaports.