Pres. Marcos Jr said that the newly signed General Appropriations Act for 2025 reflects the government’s commitment to “[transform] economic gains into meaningful outcomes for every Filipino.” The Php6.326-trillion national budget however only reinforces the country’s undemocratic politics and inequitable economy. It still has hundreds of billions of pesos for pork barrel projects, confidential and intelligence funds, and other political devices for self-enrichment or patronage. These do nothing to address the number of poor and vulnerable families growing to some 19 million and of hungry families to over six million, nor manufacturing falling to its smallest share of the economy since 1949 and agriculture to its smallest in history.
