Constitutional issues in 2025 budget may reach SC

If President Marcos won't veto it, the labor coalition NAGKAISA intends to question the proposed 2025 national budget before the Supreme Court for violating the constitutional mandate to prioritize education and health.

- By MAYEN JAYMALIN and RHODINA VILLANUEVA

Other groups and individuals are also reportedly set to challenge before the SC the constitutionality of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), in which Congress added billions to the original expenditure program submitted by the executive for certain agencies.

NAGKAISA chair Sonny Matula said that should the President sign the proposed budget as is, NAGKAISA will file a suit against the government.

"We will not allow the government to abandon its duty to the people," Matula said. "This fight is not just about numbers—it is about lives, justice and our nation's moral compass."

According to Matula, the zero budget subsidy for PhilHealth is a direct assault on social justice and the Constitution and thus Marcos should veto the budget proposal.

Matula said the zero-subsidy blatantly violates the Constitution's mandates to prioritize health and social justice. It undermines the public's right to accessible and affordable health care while leaving hospitals and health care workers struggling to deliver services. "Public health is not a privilege—it is a right enshrined in our Constitution," Matula said.

President Marcos previously defended the zero subsidy for PhilHealth, claiming its reserve fund of P600 billion would suffice. However, NAGKAISA clarified that the actual reserve is only about P400 billion as per admission of PhilHealth.

Concerned medical and civil society groups on Tuesday also urged the Executive branch to immediately veto the GAA, which removed the subsidy for PhilHealth.

The groups led by the Action for Economic Reforms noted that the allocation of funds under the GAA for 2025 is a gross violation of the Sin Tax law, which earmarks 85 percent of excise tax collections from tobacco and sweetened beverages to PhilHealth for the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act.