Retired AFP, PNP officials ask for budget review

MANILA, Philippines — Over a dozen retired officials of the military, police and coast guard are asking President Marcos to look into controversial allocations in the proposed 2025 national budget that seem to prioritize less important items at the expense of vital ones, including defense and security.

In an open letter, they said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program’s P15-billion reduction from its planned P50-billion budget for next year is among their concerns.

The retired AFP and PNP officials said this “reduces national defense efforts and hinders the AFP’s ability to confront security concerns and modernize necessary equipment.”

“Restoring the full allocation is important for maintaining the country’s sovereignty and military readiness,” their open letter to the President read.

“We, the retired and concerned members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Uniformed Personnel, UP Vanguard, civil society and civic organizations and concerned citizens of the Republic, are writing to you today to convey our serious concerns regarding the questionable deviations of the approved General Appropriations Bill 2025 from the National Expenditure Program that Your Excellency submitted to Congress,” they said.

“These changes are the remarkable upgrades and new items which are unnecessary and which favor less important needs at the expense of the most basic needs of the Filipino people, including the welfare and security of our country,” they added.

The retired officials said they are asking the President to return the budget to the bicameral conference committee “for a thorough and open assessment to ensure that allocations are consistent with the nation’s priorities and address the most pressing needs of the Filipino people.”

“Furthermore, we urge Your Excellency to use your veto power to delete extraneous clauses and support the return of monies to essential sectors that were unfairly disregarded throughout the financial process,” they said.

Among the budget issues raised by the open letter were the “unjustified” increase of allocations for the Senate from P12.830 billion to P13.930 billion; the House of Representatives’ budget that grew from P16.345 billion to P33.670 billion and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget that was proposed at P288.6 billion but grew to P1.113 trillion.

The retired AFP, PNP and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials also questioned the insertion of the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program, saying it was “unclear where P26 billion was added for AKAP.”

Initially removed by the Senate, AKAP was described as “a rather dubious item in the budget... Besides the targeting criteria for this social safety net is ambiguous and devoid of transparency.”

Among those who signed the open letter were PCG Admiral Danilo Abinoja, Army Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Aquino, Army Brig. Generals Pedro Biasbas and Willy Bonilla, police Maj. Gen. Victor Batac, Navy Brig. Gen. Arthur Biyo and police Brig. Generals Danilo Alcoriza, Dennis Basngi and Eddie Benigay.

Asked about the open letter of the retired officials, AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military does not meddle in budget issues and trusts the President’s decisions.

“We want to continue to be professional… because anyway, the President said that he is going to go over the budget,” Brawner said.

Ayuda politics

Meanwhile, militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) called for an end to what it described as a cycle of swindling and bureaucrat capitalism in the national budget.

Bayan president Renato Reyes made the statement yesterday after President Marcos gave assurance he will look into what he described as insertions in the proposed 2025 national budget.

Reyes said the national budget has been skewed in favor of political patronage at the expense of social services or the so-called ayuda.

The politics of ayuda, Reyes said, is now seen by politicians as the path to electoral victory.

“The poor are being enticed to vote for politicians who will end up crafting legislation that will keep the people poor and perpetually dependent on cash aid,” he said.

Postponement welcomed

Teachers’ group Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) has welcomed Malacañang’s decision to postpone the signing into law of the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for next year until further review by President Marcos and his economic managers.

In a press statement, the TDC said the version of the bill passed by Congress is “unconstitutional,” pointing out that the 1987 Constitution mandates the state to give the highest budgetary priority to education.

“There is a blatant violation of the Constitution here. Perhaps the President is aware of that, unless he intends to sign an unconstitutional budget proposal. Education should have the largest share of the national budget, nothing else,” TDC national chairman Benjo Basas said.

The 2025 proposed national budget is under fire following the bicameral conference committee’s decision to cut the allocations of some departments, including the Department of Education (DepEd) and state universities and colleges and defund the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

On the other hand, the budget of the DPWH was increased to a whopping P1.1 trillion, an unprecedented move by Congress.

Under Article XIV, Section 5 of the Constitution, “the State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”

Of the P12-billion budget cut on DepEd next year, P10 billion will be slashed from its computerization program, which aims to provide public schools with appropriate information and communication technologies gadgets, equipment, software and training both for teachers and students.

The TDC said its call for greater allocation of resources to education “is not just about complying with constitutional mandates but about addressing the urgent needs of Filipino learners.”

“The government’s spending on education should go beyond legal mandates and be treated as a genuine investment in the nation’s future. Classrooms must be built, books and instructional materials provided, accessible internet and computers made available for learners and teachers adequately supported with proper compensation and benefits. All of these are necessary to ensure that every child receives quality education,” Basas said. — Emmanuel Tupas, Elizabeth Marcelo