Outrage in Philippines over deep cuts forces Marcos to halt US$108 billion budget signing
Critics accuse lawmakers of diverting funds from pro-poor services to their own pet projects, raising concerns of corruption
The presidential palace belatedly announced the decision on Friday to allow more time for a thorough review of a measure “that will determine the course of the nation for the next year”.
“The public outrage has influenced him to backtrack,” health reform advocate Dr Anthony Leachon told This Week in Asia.
Leachon, a former president of the Philippine College of Physicians, said “if the president allows the budget to pass into law, he becomes complicit” in what Congress did.
The uproar began after both chambers of Congress approved the 2025 budget, which includes major cuts of about 361 billion pesos (US$6.1 billion) to government agencies that offer social protection and medical services to the poorest sectors of the economy.
The state-run Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), which provides medical insurance to paying members as well as to the non-paying poor, elderly and disabled, had 74 billion pesos proposed national government subsidy for 2025 slashed – effectively cutting the legally required yearly contribution of the Marcos administration to zero.
