President Marcos will "keep an eye," not literally sit, on the 2026 budget deliberations, Malacañang clarified.
PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro (Betheena Unite)
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President's pronouncement to oversee the budget process was merely to express that "he will keep an eye" on the bicameral conference committee on the national budget.
"Literally, he will not definitely sit during the Bicam meeting, this is just an expression to show to the people that he will keep an eye on the national budget for 2026," Castro said during a Palace briefing on Thursday, May 22.
The Palace official explained that Marcos would monitor the budget process to ensure that it will be aligned on the administration's priorities.
"So, it should be at least based on the priorities of the government. The budget should be based on the priorities of the government and it should prioritize the projects of the government, so iyon lamang po (that's all)," she said.
Asked if the President's move came after the delay in passing the 2025 national budget, which has to undergo a series of meetings with his Cabinet members, the Palace official said: that is why the President stated that he will keep an eye on it.
When asked if they are optimistic the passage of the budget will not experience the same delay, Castro said, "I do not want to answer a hypothetical question, hindi natin sinasabi na negatibo (we cannot say it's negative), but we should always be optimistic.