00:00Projects against flood and water supply are considered as veto or removed by the President.
00:06That and other contents of the 2025 National Budget were covered by GMA Integrated News.
00:12This was brought to you by Ivan Mayrina.
00:19Yesterday, the President approved the 2025 National Budget.
00:22The 181 projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways
00:28worth a total of 26 billion pesos.
00:31That's just a small percentage of the total of 288 billion pesos
00:35that was approved by the youth in the version approved by the Bicameral Committee
00:39and not in the original National Expenditure Program that was first adopted by the President in Congress.
00:44In the GMA News Research,
00:46almost all of the projects were vetoed,
00:48flood control projects,
00:50projects for water supply,
00:52and there were also projects that were vetoed in the budget for multipurpose buildings.
00:56Flood control projects in Region 3 or Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Metro Manila and Ilocos Region
01:03were the biggest projects that were vetoed.
01:07However, the DBM explained that this does not mean that flood control or water supply is not a priority.
01:13The projects that are not implementation ready or ambiguous projects were removed.
01:18They identified projects in places that are not on the map.
01:24That's why we did not include them.
01:26More than 168 billion pesos of unprogrammed appropriations
01:30or items in the budget that have not yet been clearly obtained by the funds.
01:33Among those, there are almost different funds for aid,
01:36like 50 billion for 4Ps,
01:381 billion for Pambansang Pabahay,
01:41and 1 billion for the pension of social indigents.
01:44Almost 77 billion was also removed for priority social programs,
01:49for health facilities, TESDA, CHED, and others.
01:52The President first explained that 300% of the unprogrammed appropriations were removed
01:58because the BICAM budget was cut and it needs to be removed
02:01so that the budget deficit will not increase or the budget will be short
02:05compared to the government's income.
02:06What was not removed, but the funds were cut,
02:09the 26 billion pesos in the amount of aid for Kaposang Kita or ACAP,
02:13which some say is like pork barrel for the legislators and can be used in the campaign.
02:19ACAP in 2025 is the second year in the budget.
02:22Now in 2024, according to the DSWD,
02:25almost 5 million beneficiaries benefited from ACAP,
02:28including farmers and fishermen.
02:31In 2025, not only the DSWD, but also DOLE and NEDA will decide who will receive it.
02:37That is why the President objected to the conditional implementation.
02:42It should be seen that not only the DSWD, but also DOLE and NEDA
02:48so that we can assure that the use of funds will go in the right direction.
02:55DOLE is involved because they will be able to identify
03:02who are the minimum rich earners, the Kaposang Kita.
03:08But in an interview with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin yesterday,
03:12he said that the role of local officials
03:15is crucial when it comes to the acceptance of ACAP.
03:18Don't be naive.
03:20Always in our life in the Philippines,
03:25there must be some people who initiate.
03:28That's the thinking that you should have about this.
03:32Be broad-minded about it.
03:34The government doesn't know all the difficulties.
03:37It should come from the lower levels.
03:41Tell them, Mr. Executive Secretary, ACAP needs this.
03:45We don't know all the people who are in need,
03:48who are having a hard time.
03:51That's why we have this interaction.
03:55For GMA Integrated News, Ivan Mayrina, for Tutok, 24 hours.
04:10For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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