Members of Makabayan and other progressive groups gathered on December 30 in Mendiola to protest Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s signing of the 2025 budget. They claimed that said budget is “full of cuts in services while maintaining the politicians’ pork barrel.” They also opposed cuts in social services, increased pork barrel, and funds for corruption.

After a week of “scrutiny,” Marcos signed the ₱6.33 trillion budget with almost no difference from what the bicameral committee passed on December 10. The only projects he rejected were infrastructure projects worth ₱194 billion from a budget of over ₱1.2 trillion.

Marcos removed a measly amount of ₱26 billion under the Department of Public Works and Highways and ₱168 billion from unprogrammed funds. This is only to make it appear that the Department of Education has a larger budget, as mandated by the 1987 Constitution. In the signed budget, the education budget of ₱1.053 trillion (including the budget for DepEd, CHED, public universities, and others) is barely larger than the budget for the DPWH, which is ₱1.034 trillion.

The DepEd’s budget for digitalization was not restored, and the budget for health services, public hospitals, calamity funds, and others remains reduced. Philhealth also remained with zero or no allocated budget.

Marcos did not reduce the presidential office’s ₱4.5 billion confidential and intelligence funds by a single cent.

Marcos placed pork barrel funds under “conditional implementation” to slyly push through with AKAP and other aid programs. He placed AKAP under the office of the DSWD Special Program secretary and stipulated that it be implemented according to “strict guidelines” that the DSWD, DOLE, and NEDA will jointly issue. He placed the “Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan Program” under the same office, with the assistance of OPAPRU. Marcos also placed ten more “line items” under the offices managing “special programs.”

“President Marcos even had numerous histrionics claiming that he reviewed the budget passed by the bicam. But the truth is, the 2025 budget, like previous budgets, is not for the country’s development and the people’s welfare,” Makabayan president and senatorial candidate Liza Maza said. She ridiculed the budget’s theme, “Agenda for Prosperity: Fulfilling the Needs and Aspirations of the Filipino People.”

“Perhaps the theme should be ‘Agenda for Profits: Fulfilling the Needs of Trapos and Big Business.’ Because all this spending program shows is profit for politicians and businesses,” she said. “Billions for infrastructure projects, the number one source of corruption for trapos. Infrastructure projects that do not address our actual development needs and only benefit lending banks and private contractors and operators.”

“The 2025 budget should go directly to services, not to politicians’ pockets!” Bayan Muna asserted. They called for the removal of all types of pork barrel and confidential funds.

“Prioritize social services in the budget!” Courage demanded. The group emphasized the restoration of Philhealth funds and the Dynaslope Project, the system that provides early warnings against landslides.