The Department of Finance (DOF) and its affiliated agencies are requesting a budget of P33.75 billion for the fiscal year 2025 to support their core operations and priority programs, including the digitalization of tax administration and public services.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto presented the proposed budget during the Senate finance committee hearing on Tuesday, highlighting the need to efficiently fund the government’s P6.35 trillion national budget for 2025. Out of this total, P4.64 trillion is expected to be funded by revenues, while the remaining P1.71 trillion will require financing through loans.
“For next year, our expenditures amount to P17.4 billion a day, of which P12.72 billion per day will be financed by revenue collections, and the rest, P4.68 billion, by loans. Every 24 hours, this is the immense task the DOF needs to accomplish with our modest proposed budget of P33.75 billion,” Recto explained to the committee.
The DOF’s proposed budget for 2025 is 20.8% higher than the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) allocation but represents only 0.5% of the government’s total proposed budget for 2025.
The bulk of the requested funds, amounting to P29 billion, is earmarked to support the DOF’s key operations and initiatives, including enhancing revenue collection through the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC), improving financial and debt management by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), and strengthening local finance administration by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).
The proposed budget breakdown allocates 41.4% to Personnel Services, 37.9% to Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), and 20.6% to Capital Outlays. The BIR is set to receive the largest share, with P17.68 billion or 54.4% of the total DOF budget.
In the first half of 2024, the DOF achieved an obligation rate of 70%, amounting to PHP 40.85 billion out of its total allotment of PHP 58.36 billion, ranking fourth among government agencies in terms of obligation rates, above the government’s average of 65.4%.
Secretary Recto emphasized the DOF’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, stating, “We will ensure that every peso is being stretched to deliver the biggest bang per buck for the Filipino people. Much like our triumphant Olympians, we will always go for the gold.”
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