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November 7, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the P1.307 trillion programmed spending for the fourth quarter of 2025 to boost economic growth, Malacañang said yesterday.
At a press conference, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said that a large portion of the funding has been earmarked for social services in accordance with the President’s directive, to ensure that Filipinos benefit from government expenditures.
“This aims to address the needs of our countrymen who have been devastated by the recent disasters, and for them to recover,” Castro said.
She said Marcos has also directed all government offices to use the funds properly.
Boost to economy
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, for her part, said the government’s programmed spending from October to December is expected to bolster yearend economic growth and can impact on the full-year growth of the country.
“Our programmed spending for the fourth quarter will boost yearend economic growth and thus impact overall economic growth for the year,” Pangandaman said.
The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), chaired by Pangandaman, lowered this year’s economic growth target to 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent from the earlier projection of six to eight percent growth.
In an interview, Pangandaman told reporters that the DBCC is waiting for the third quarter gross domestic product result before revising its overall growth goal.
She added that the government’s economic managers will craft measures to help the country achieve the 5.5 percent growth target, assuming that no significant adjustments are made in the existing growth goal.
The amount released for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, worth P9.52 billion, is primarily earmarked for major social protection commitments including the balance for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which provides conditional cash transfers to beneficiaries.
The DBM has also released P7.03 billion for payouts for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program and another P5.8 billion to fund social pension benefits for indigent senior citizens.
“Finally, P4.83 billion is released for the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita program to support vulnerable sectors. Under the Department of Agriculture, P7.33 billion is allocated for the National Rice Program, while P2.47 billion is for the National Livestock Program,” the budget department said.
The Department of Education is set to receive fourth-quarter fund releases amounting to P203.82 billion, of which P153.71 billion will cover personnel services, including the yearend bonuses and benefits for teachers and staff.
Another P11.4 billion has also been set aside for Salary Standardization Law adjustments.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto previously admitted that a slower revenue collection and dampened government spending continue to weigh on the country’s expansion prospects.
The government’s spending on infrastructure, from January to August, went down by 5.6 percent to P798.4 billion from P845.3 billion in the same eight-month period last year.
Trust in Marcos still high
Also at yesterday’s Palace conference, Castro said that a majority of Filipinos still trust President Marcos despite the drop in his trust and performance ratings.
Castro was reacting to the Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 survey conducted by the OCTA Research group, showing President Marcos’ trust rating at 57 percent, down from 64 percent in a similar survey in July.
“But the majority is still there, their trust in our President is still there. As we said, regardless of the number, high, low, and as long as our President and the government are working for the people, we will just continue and we will not be affected by any number,” Castro said.
Those who distrusted him increased from 20 percent to 25 percent, while undecided respondents increased from 16 percent to 17 percent.
Meanwhile, 54 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with the performance of Marcos, down from 62 percent in July.
Dissatisfaction with the President increased from 19 percent to 26 percent, while those who were undecided increased from 18 percent to 20 percent.
But despite the declines, President Marcos continues to enjoy majority trust and approval among Filipinos, maintaining both ratings above the 50 percent mark.
