Senate adopts Comelec 2025 proposed budget

Senate building (File photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Senate on Monday decided to retain the PHP35.47 billion proposed 2025 budget of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), just like what the House of Representatives did.

Senator Imee Marcos said the Committee on Finance retained the proposed PHP35.47 billion under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), lower by PHP4.912 billion than the 2024 budget

“The decrease is mainly due to the reduction in the operations under the regular program in preparatory of the local and national elections. It is mainly due to the cost of leasing of the new machines in 2024 amounting to PHP23.9 billion as well as the PHP12 billion under the Cha-cha (charter change) and plebiscite concerns,” she said.

“Therefore, the House of Representatives’ General Appropriations Bill and the Senate committee report retained the PHP35.47 billion budget as proposed in the NEP.”

The proposed budget will allocate PHP15 billion for the May 12, 2025 national and local elections and PHP11.6 billion for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Dec. 2, 2025.

A new feature in the 2025 elections will allow voters to print receipts before transmitting their votes.

Automated counting machines will be used as stand-alone, battery-operated devices that can run for up to three days, eliminating the need for backup generators.

Marcos confirmed that Comelec will conduct nationwide comprehensive voters’ education, starting Dec. 2 until Jan. 30, 2025 “to make certain that voters are familiar with the new system.”