Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

Last Aug. 13, 2025, on behalf of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. (PBBM) and as Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), I had the honor and privilege of officially submitting to Congress the ₱6.793 trillion Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) for their review, deliberation, and approval.

We, in the Executive Branch, submitted the President’s proposed budget, which is 7.4 percent higher than this year’s ₱6.326 trillion national budget and equivalent to 22 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, just two weeks after the President’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, 2025.

While this may be so, we have been diligently and meticulously crafting the proposed budget. I highly appreciate PBBM for being very hands-on during the process, sitting down with each agency several times, carefully considering their concerns and needs, and planning how we can make our Agenda for Prosperity truly felt by the Filipino people. As he pronounced in his SONA, “We are not building only for today; we are building also for tomorrow.”

We, at the DBM, received a total of ₱10.101 trillion worth of budget proposals. To ensure that we can strengthen the economy, reduce our deficit, and realize the nation’s full potential given our limited fiscal space, we carefully evaluated all submissions based on their alignment with the priorities of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023–2028, shovel-readiness of new and ensuring completion of ongoing projects with the highest impact, and the absorptive capacity of agencies or ability to utilize their budget. We also encouraged agencies to adopt efficiency measures and reduce non-essential items.

In the second half of this administration, we are shifting our focus to investing greatly not only in infrastructure but in our greatest treasure–our people, especially the next generation. Thus, while we continue to pursue progress, we will also nurture future-ready generations to achieve the nation's full potential. Hence, the NEP’s theme: “Agenda for Prosperity: Nurturing Future-Ready Generations to Achieve the Full Potential of the Nation.”

In this regard, the Social Services sector will receive the biggest budget share, with ₱2.314 trillion to fund priority projects on education, culture, and manpower development (₱1.194 trillion); health care, ₱331.4 billion; and social security, welfare, and employment, with ₱295.8 billion, among others.

Meanwhile, the Economic Services sector will receive ₱1.868 trillion to stimulate economic activities nationwide, comprising communications, roads, and other transport projects (₱777.2 billion); agriculture and agrarian reform programs (₱256.5 billion); water resources development and flood control measures (₱259.3 billion); and tourism efforts (₱6.5 billion).

A total of ₱1.202 trillion will go to General Public Services to finance public order and safety activities (₱494.2 billion), and general administrative expenses of the government (₱309.4 billion), among others.

Further, we have allotted ₱430.9 billion for the Defense sector to boost the country’s domestic security and defense capabilities, with ₱291.6 billion allotted for the Department of National Defense.

Hence, the priority sector recipients under the NEP are: Education (₱928.5 billion); Public Works (₱881.3 billion); Health (₱320.5 billion); Defense (₱299.3 billion); Interior and Local Government (₱287.5 billion); Agriculture (₱239.2 billion); Social Welfare (₱227 billion); Transportation (₱197.3 billion); Judiciary (₱67.9 billion); and Labor and Employment (₱55.2 billion).

By expense class, Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures (MOOE) will receive ₱2.640 trillion, or 38.9 percent of the proposed budget, to fund the day-to-day operations and spending priorities of the government. Personnel Services will receive the second-highest share, with ₱1.879 trillion, or 27.7 percent, to cover the salaries, benefits, pensions, and other compensations of civil servants. The third-highest allocation will go to Capital Outlays (₱1.324 trillion or 19.5 percent), to finance infrastructure and capital projects, while Financial Expenses will get ₱950 billion, or 14 percent, to cover expenses such as interest payments, guarantee and bank fees, and charges related to borrowing or asset ownership.

We welcome the announcement of the House of Representatives during the NEP turnover that they will implement important reforms in its budget process to ensure full transparency, greater public participation, and a process that is better, stronger, and more trusted.

These reforms include: Removing the “small committee” that collates institutional amendments; opening the bicameral conference proceedings to the public and the media; inviting civil society, people’s organizations, and the private sector to join budget hearings; strengthening the House oversight function in the execution of the budget; and prioritizing investments that truly change lives.

I fully concur that “A budget the people can trust is a government the people can believe in.” Indeed, the DBM has been embodying transparency, openness, and accountability through our Agenda for Prosperity, which we have been advancing via open government reforms since 2022.

Beyond budget, the FY 2026 NEP is the PBBM administration’s proposed tool that will guarantee continued progress now and in the future, anchored on a clear plan. Rest assured that we are ready to defend it. I hope that our lawmakers will adhere to it as closely as possible, as the President emphasized in his SONA. I also hope that you will join us in crafting an inclusive, sustainable, and responsive national budget that empowers our people to realize their hopes and dreams, as we strengthen our Bagong Pilipinas.