Marcos Jr. signs P5.768 trillion national budget for 2024

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday signed the P5.768-trillion budget for 2024, which allocates more funds to defense initiatives for the West Philippine Sea and financial assistance to cash-strapped Filipinos.

Marcos said the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2024 is the government’s “battle plan” to address poverty, illiteracy, food security, health, employment and the security of homes and borders of the country.

“Today, we sign the national budget, the instrument which tells how the taxes paid by the people will be returned to them. In effect, we are signing the renewal of our annual social contract with taxpayers, that what they have paid faithfully will be rebated to them in full,” Marcos said during the 2024 GAA signing.

Among the sectors that received a greater allocation for next year are transportation, defense and education.

The 2024 budget also saw Congress realigning most of the confidential funds of civilian agencies, including those of the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd), toward maritime security.

This sparked and fueled rumors of a rift between Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte, whose offices lost a combined total of P650 million in confidential funds. Duterte was not present at the signing.

While the 2024 GAA marks a 9.5 percent increase from this year’s budget, the President underscored that next year’s funding would not be able to “fully fund” all the government’s plans for the country, stressing that “good fiscal stewardship” dictates restraint from further bloating the national debt.

“We can be reckless – take the easy path, borrow and let our children pick today’s tab up tomorrow. But debt is not the kind of inheritance that we want for those who will come after us. Good fiscal stewardship imposes upon us discipline not to be led into the temptation of bloating what we owe,” he said.

“Good government dictates upon us the duty to spend the appropriations we have cobbled together for the correct purposes, the right way, on time and on budget,” he added.

While Malacañang has yet to release a copy of the budget and Marcos’ veto message, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said there were no