Bicam boosts executive's unprogrammed funds to P531B
MANILA, Philippines — Funds with no specific allocation in the proposed 2025 national budget remain significant, as the bicameral conference committee earlier this week added another P373 billion to the executive branch's initial proposal.
The National Expenditure Program, which outlines the executive branch's proposed budget, initially requested P158.6 billion in what officials call "unprogrammed funds."
However, at the bicameral conference of both chambers of Congress, increased this amount by P373 billion, bringing the total to P531.66 billion.
Unprogrammed funds are defined by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as allocations without guaranteed funding.Funds are only allocated for the project when the government secures additional resources or revenues.
Under the Marcos administration
This is not the first time Congress has approved a higher amount of unprogrammed funds than requested by the Executive branch. In 2024, unprogrammed funds reached a staggering P731.44 billion, making it the second-highest allocation for such items since 2016, surpassed only by the 2023 budget.
For 2024, the NEP initially sought P282.9 billion in unprogrammed funds, but Congress increased this by P449.5 billion—a move that drew criticism from opposition lawmakers.
Key projects, including major transportation initiatives and military modernization efforts, were unexpectedly placed under unprogrammed funds, surprising some legislators.
READ: Unprogrammed funds on the rise: Questions that hound the 2024 budget
Senate's perspective
In a chance interview on Wednesday, December 12, Senate budget sponsor Sen. Grace Poe commented on the reduced scale of unprogrammed funds for 2025 compared to previous years.
“Our unprogrammed funds are not like before when many items were placed under it. Now, it is lower,” Poe said.
If approved, 2025 would mark the fourth consecutive year that Congress has increased unprogrammed funds beyond what was requested by the Executive branch.
Previous allocations
In recent years, Congress has consistently raised unprogrammed fund allocations:
- For 2022, Congress increased the Executive's request of P151.63 billion to P251.63 billion.
- For 2023, Congress raised unprogrammed funds to P807.16 billion from the NEP’s original request of P588.162 billion.
The DBM has previously explained that categorizing items under unprogrammed funds does not indicate they are low priority. Instead, these projects may lack certain requirements such as complete documentation or finalized loan agreements.
Philstar.com has reached out to both DBM and House budget sponsor Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co for comments and will update this story once they respond.
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