CAPAS: While the reported PHP20-billion budget cut for the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed 2025 budget may affect the agency, there are still ways to mitigate its impacts.
Speaking at the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum at New Clark City in this town Thursday, DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan conceded that the cut may adversely affect the projects of the transport agency.
‘It will have an effect because, of course, if we do not pay our contractors, our contractors may slowdown in their operations,’ Batan said.
Fortunately for the DOTr, most of its impending projects are foreign assisted, according to the DOTr official.
‘Since they are foreign assisted, we already have the loans in place,’ Batan said.
He added that the DOTr might also tap the unprogrammed appropriations in the budget
‘We’re able to tap that whenever we are not given the full amount requested for in the programmed section of the budget. There will still be effects because it takes time, there’s a process in tap
ping unprogrammed appropriations,’ he said.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said some infrastructure projects, including their social components, worth around PHP20 billion, were left out in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) prepared by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and approved by President Ferdinand R. Marcos.
The President approved the government spending plan for 2025 early this month.
The NEP is the national government’s spending plan for the next fiscal year.
Once approved by Congress, it will be known as the GAB, and will become the General Appropriations Act upon signing into law.
For 2025, the proposed national budget is set at PHP6.352 trillion.
Source: Philippines News Agency