Palace mum on Imee's tirades on 2025 budget

Malacañang was mum on Sen. Imee Marcos' tirades against the proposed 2025 national budget, which is under review by the administration because of "insertions" and other items not in line with President Marcos' policies.

- By Alexis Romero

The P6.352-trillion spending bill approved by Congress has drawn flak over the alleged bloated funding for public works and the reduced allocation for education, which is supposed to get the highest budgetary priority under the Constitution.

While President Marcos and his officials are still scrutinizing the proposed budget, Malacañang confirmed that the signing of the spending bill into law has been slated for Dec. 30, a schedule likened by Imee to "a thief in the night."

In a statement issued last Monday, the President's eldest sister said the budget for public works should be reduced by at least P188 billion to avoid violating the Constitution.

The appropriations of items vetoed by the President cannot be used to fund or augment other items in the budget, she added.