lucky cola Budget slash final: DOTr funds reduced by P92 billion

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) budget for 2025 has been cut to nearly half of its proposed amountlucky cola, shrinking from P180.14 billion to a mere P87.24 billion.  

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the 2025 budget on the second-to-last day of 2024, the latest he has signed a General Appropriations Act (GAA) during his term. While he vetoed several items, Marcos left the DOTr’s budget untouched, maintaining the amount approved by Congress.  

Because the PCA ruling was based on an international treaty, the Philippines should have moved quickly to promote global support for compliance. Instead the kowtowing to Beijing of the Duterte administration, which even trumpeted its pivot to China, slowed down the effort.

Over in Manila, as reports spread about an emerging pandemic, the administration of Rodrigo Duterte refused to impose travel restrictions on visitors from China. The Philippines’ COVID Patients 1 and 2 were a pair of tourists from Wuhan, recorded as early as Jan. 30, 2020. One became the first confirmed COVID death recorded in the Philippines, on Feb. 1, and the first outside China.

The largest and only portion cut from the DOTr budget was the allocation for the Office of the Secretary. In the National Expenditure Program (NEP), the secretary's office was allotted P145.62 billion, but this was reduced to P50.66 billion—a massive 65.22% cut, translating to a P94.96 billion reduction.  

One project under the Office of the Secretary that experienced a significant budget cut was the Rail Transport Program, which includes the government’s flagship train infrastructure projects such as the Metro Manila Subway Project. The NEP initially proposed P107.25 billion for the Rail Transport Program, but in the 2025 GAA, this was reduced to only P1.41 billion.  

Budgetary support for foreign-assisted projects, many of which are transportation infrastructure initiatives, can be found under unprogrammed funds, such as the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension and the MRT Line 4 Project.  

All other agency allocations under the DOTr were either retained or increased. For instance, the Philippine Coast Guard received a nearly P2 billion increase, from P31.26 billion in the NEP to P33.25 billion in the 2025 GAA.  

The Civil Aeronautics Board and the Maritime Industry Authority also saw minor increases in their budgets, now at P249.80 million and P1.31 billion, respectively.  

The Philippines’ transportation system is plagued with several long-standing issues. For years, Manila has been labeled as having the world’s worst traffic. A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency revealed that the Philippine economy loses P3.5 billion per day due to traffic congestion.  

The country’s main airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airportlucky cola, has also been labeled the world’s worst airport.