President Marcos is open to ordering a “sweeping review” of the proposed 2026 budget across government agencies, not just the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Malacañang said.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after lawmakers flagged alleged anomalies in the proposed budgets of several agencies, including the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Department of Health (DOH).

In a press briefing, Castro said Marcos is ready to issue similar directives to other agencies if questionable items are found in their allocations under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

“Kung may iba pang mga ahensiya na involved ay ganoon din po ang magiging utos ng Pangulo (If other agencies are involved, the President will issue the same order),” she said on Thursday, Sept. 4.

The House had uncovered supposed questionable allocations such as P8 billion for PNP firearms procurement, P1 billion for DOH beautification funds, and schemes tied to farm-to-market roads under the DA.

“Iyong mga detalye po dito mas maganda po talagang iparating sa Pangulo dahil paminsan-minsan po ‘pag sinabi lamang po at walang detalye, mahirap po kasi agad na mag-judge (These details must be formally reported to the President because it is difficult to judge without full documentation),” Castro said.

The Palace Press Officer explained that for now, the President has instructed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and DPWH to carefully evaluate the flagged items and submit corrections through the proper process.

Meanwhile, Castro said that under budget rules, amendments should be transmitted through errata sheets, not by returning the NEP to the DBM or the Office of the President.

“Kailangan po talaga na errata, through errata sheets lang po. Hindi na po kinakailangang ibalik po ito sa Presidente or sa DBM dahil naipasa na po ito sa Kongreso (It must really be done through errata sheets. It should no longer be returned to the President or DBM since it has already been transmitted to Congress),” she said, adding that sending the NEP back would only cause delays in deliberations, aside from the move not being legally acceptable.

Asked if the Palace feared a possible reenacted budget should more irregularities surface, Castro dismissed the concern as premature.

“Napaka-hypothetical ng question, but still kung mangyayari man ito, mas magandang ngayon pa lang ay maayos na (That’s a very hypothetical question, but if ever it happens, it is better to fix it now),” she said.

Castro assured that budget hearings remain on track and within schedule.

“Wala pa naman po (There are no such fears yet),” she said, when pressed about the possibility of a reenacted budget.

President Marcos said in July that he would not hesitate to veto line items not in the 2026 NEP, even at the cost of having a reenacted budget.