The House of Representatives will begin tackling the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP)--the precursor of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget--on Sept. 1.

House Committee on Appropriations chairperson, Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing shared this target date during a press conference Monday, Aug. 4,

“Our target po natin DBCC ay Sept. 1 (Our target is the DBCC by Sept. 1),” Suansing told reporters. DBCC stands for the Development Budget Coordination Committee, and it is traditionally the first body that the appropriations panel holds a briefing with.

She noted that while the submission of the NEP to Congress is tentatively expected on or before Aug. 13, several intermediary steps still need to take place before the GAB is formally filed. After all, the GAB will be based on the NEP, which emanates from Malacañang.

The marathon per agency budget deliberations by appropriations panel is arguably the most ardous phase of the House budget process. Sometimes a hearing on an agency can take over 10 hours before it can be terminated.

Suansing explained that although the budget hearings this year may begin later than in previous cycles, the committee has already lined up preliminary activities.

“Habang pong hinihintay natin ‘yung pag-file ng mismong GAB ay gagawin na po natin ‘yung initial engagement natin, yung tinatawag natin na People’s Budget Review (While we’re still waiting for the official filing of the GAB, we’ll already begin our initial engagement, it's what we call the People’s Budget Review),” she noted.

Asked if the proposed schedule would cause a delay compared to past budget deliberations, Suansing said that it was still consistent with timelines followed in previous years when the session began after an election.

“Iba po kasi talaga ‘yung calendar natin sa tuwing una siya ng term. Ang pwede po natin i-compare ay ngayon, deliberasyon natin and 2022 (Our calender is comparatively different whenever it's the first term. What we can compare it to is our deliberation in 2022,” she said. The last mid-term polls were held only last May.

Suansing said that the slight shift is due to the congressional calendar, since the regular session of Congress had yet to convene when the NEP calendar was being finalized.

The Nueva Ecija congresswoman assured House scribes that the committee can meet its deadline for the GAB passage.

“Kaya naman po. As usual marami lang pong mga gabi na hindi kami pwedeng matulog. Hindi lang gabi, ilang linggo (We can do it. As usual there will be some sleepless nights. Not only nights, but weeks),” she said in jest.

“But we will get the budget passed on time po. And very strongly deliberated on. Yun po yung mahalaga (That’s what's important),” she continued.