P2.3 billion debt repayment eats into Manila’s 2025 budget—Abante

THE CITY of Manila remains burdened by the P17.8 billion debt inherited from the previous administration as it allocated a P2.3 billion debt repayment this year, Manila Public Information Office head Priscilla “Princess” Abante said.  

During the Manila City Hall Reporters’ Association press conference in Ermita last March 25, Abante said that the yearly repayment of P2 billion, now in its third year, limits Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan's capacity to fund programs in social services and infrastructure.  

“[The] P2 billion could have been used for other programs, and we've been paying that since 2022,” Abante said.   

The loan was part of a P25 billion credit line secured from the Development Bank of the Philippines, which was intended to fund infrastructure projects over the next nine years. However, Abante noted that P17.8 billion had already been spent in just two and a half years before former Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso left office in 2022.  

“Yung sa loan ng city, it was designed na magbabayad at the start of the next term. So yung bulk talaga ng burden napunta talaga kay Mayor Honey… so nung nagamit yung P17.8 billion, ang start talaga ng payment was not during his term, but it started during Mayor Honey's term,” she said.  

The City Council of Manila appropriated a budget of P25 billion for 2025, 50 percent more than its P16-billion budget in 2024.  

The bulk of the proposed budget this year, which was P10.4 billion, was allocated to social services projects like the welfare aid to senior citizens, relocatees and Persons with Disabilities.  

A total of P1.247 billion was also set aside for calamity funds, while almost P300 million was appropriated for teachers’ incentives. 

In terms of infrastructure, the Manila government set aside around P1.7 billion for the President Corazon Aquino General Hospital, the Pritil Market, the Kalinga Center, the Universidad de Manila and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. 

Other budget allocations were for the Office of the Mayor at P2 billion, the Manila Health Department at P1.28 billion, P790 million for the City Council, P250 million for the City Treasurer’s Office, P78 million for the Bureau of Permits, P59 million for the Vice Mayor’s Office, P57 million to the City Planning and Development Office and P52 million to the City Personnel Office.  

Most of the budget was allocated toward the “current operating expenditures,” which include “personal services” built on salaries and wages per office, along with “maintenance and order” that constitutes operating, travel, and training expenses. 

Abante said that she and Lacuna were convinced of the P25 billion loan last term as they thought it was for the betterment of the city, being former allies of Domagoso. 

“Ka-alyado namin siya eh. So we had that impression na kasama namin siya for nine years hangga't kaya naming ilaban yung nine years,” she said. 

“Hindi naman kailangan gamitin ‘yun in three years eh, dapat nine years ‘yun eh. ‘Yan yung aking understanding do’n. So kaya naging question, bakit [P]17.8 billion in 2 years?” 

Abante also pointed out that the currrent administration believed that the fast disbursement of the P17.8 billion credit line was to curry favor in Domagoso’s 2022 presidential campaign. 

“Even before nung marami nang chismis nung 2020, 2021, during the pandemic, tinatanong naman namin siya, ‘ano ba plano mo?’, naging very candid naman siya with the media before, ‘magpa-kampante kayo, di ako aalis ng Maynila,’ and we held onto that statement,” she said. 

“We were under the impression na sama-sama pa rin kami for nine years. So nung nag-declare na tatakbo [siya] ng presidente, ‘di siguro para do’n talaga ‘yon, yung P17.8 billion na nagamit is to create an impression na madaming nagawa for a higher office run,” she added. 

Moreno last addressed the criticisms regarding his administration’s debt during a town hall meeting in October 2024, saying that he had to find ways to keep the city afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.