Marcos’ budget allocation for his instrument of state terror continues to grow. It is striking how his 2025 budget proposal plan a 51% increase in the defense budget, from ₱278.1 billion in 2024 to ₱419.3 billion in 2025. A large part of this will go to the Armed Forces of the Philippines which will receive ₱242.8 billion.

Almost all branches of the AFP will receive budget increases in 2025, the highest being the Philippine Navy, which will grow from ₱41.4 billion to ₱49 billion. The same goes for the Philippine Army, which will receive an additional ₱1.8 billion, and the Philippine Air Force, which will receive an additional ₱4.6 billion.

Funding for the Revised AFP Modernization Program (RAFPMP) will also be raised significantly by 25% from ₱40 billion to ₱50 billion. Defending the West Philippine Sea is being used as an excuse. The military sources the RAFPMP to procure various weapons for sowing terrorism in the countryside, such as the several batches of Elbit drone systems from Israel, attack helicopters, warships, and radar systems acquired in the past years. Under the 2025 budget, the AFP intends to purchase new FA-50PH light jet fighters from South Korea.

To maintain a war posture in the West Philippine Sea, funds will also pour into the Philippine Coast Guard which will receive ₱31.3 billion, for the planned construction of a hospital (₱386 million), the West and South Navigational Tele Project (₱452 million), and Radar for Cebu Vessel Traffic Management System (₱37 million).

Buried in thousands of pages of the reactionary government’s budget is its plan for the annual purchase of 120,000 sets of soldiers’ uniforms and nearly 110,000 sets of combat boots from 2025 to 2029, with a total cost of ₱3.77 billion.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) budget will also leap from ₱198.3 billion to ₱206.2 billion. Plans to recruit 2,000 policemen have been allotted ₱581 million, while ₱450 million is set aside for building 37 new police stations in the country.

Not far behind is the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) with ₱7.8 billion allocated for its Barangay Development Program, which has long been exposed as a pork barrel for generals.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency also has a ₱4 billion budget next year to continue its bloody drug war.

Money will also be poured into confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) with a total budget of ₱10.3 billion. Of this, ₱5.9 billion will be for intelligence funds of uniformed agencies, and ₱4.4 billion will be for confidential funds, which are intelligence funds for civilian agencies. Marcos boasts the smaller budget for confidential funds as some agencies such as the Office of the Vice President had their allotments removed.

What is not mentioned, however, is how the reactionary government secretly juggles the CIF. During the deliberations of the 2024 budget, intelligence funds were alloted only ₱5.3 billion, but were increased by ₱2.9 billion to ₱8.3 billion, when it was signed into law.

While the military and police funds are bloated, reactionary government agencies that are supposed to provide direct services are facing big cuts, including planned reductions of ₱23.4 billion in the Department of Health budget, ₱14.4 billion in the Department of Labor and Employment, ₱18.4 billion in the Department of Social Welfare and Development, as well as ₱19.2 billion from the budget of state universities and colleges.

One of the biggest cuts is the fund for indigent patients for their hospital expenses (₱31.2 billion).