Education, transport get increase; health, agri allotment down

The education and transportation sectors are proposed to have higher budgets next year but the health and agriculture sectors may get lower allocation under the record P6.352 trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2025.

- LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will submit at 10 a.m. today the proposed P6.352trillion 2025 budget to the House of Representatives as the Marcos administration moves to finance its priority programs and achieve its macroeconomic targets.

Based on the briefer on the 2025 NEP obtained by The STAR, the education sector will get the biggest chunk at P977.6 billion, up by a percentage from the P968.9 billion under the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

The sector includes the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and state universities and colleges.

The Department of Public Works and Highways is proposed to have the second highest allocation at P900 billion but this is a 10 percent reduction from the agency’s P997.9 billion budget for 2024.