Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin stressed that the National Expenditure Program (NEP) should serve as a guide for lawmakers in budget deliberations, not as a fixed target.

Bersamin said this after he issued a sharper rebuke to lawmakers on Saturday, Sept. 6, rejecting suggestions that the 2026 NEP should be returned to Malacañang.

“The main matter here is the NEP should be the guidance, not the target of the Congress,” Bersamin said in an interview on Sunday, Sept. 7.

While the Palace submits the proposed budget every year, Bersamin said it has never dictated how Congress should act on it.

“We do not like to dictate on Congress on how it should act. That's the prerogative of Congress. It's an independent body. And we will respect,” he said.

Bersamin added that the executive has consistently worked with both chambers of Congress on the budget.

“We have not held back. If they want us to change some things, we change. We do not have objections,” he explained.

The Palace official underscored that the administration’s message has been clear since the start: cooperation and openness in the budget process.

On Saturday, Bersamin bristled at attempts by some members of the House of Representatives to pin the blame for alleged anomalies in the proposed 2026 budget on the Executive, urging lawmakers instead to confront corruption within their own ranks.

“The Cabinet strongly objects to the recent spins coming from certain members of the House of Representatives who are thereby attempting to shift the blame for their own corruption and failures onto the Executive Branch,” he said.

Bersamin warned that Cabinet officials “will not tolerate any attack on the integrity and reputation of the Executive Branch, and any effort to hold the budget process hostage by political theatrics.”

Calling on lawmakers to show accountability, he told House leaders to: “CLEAN YOUR HOUSE FIRST!”

Before leaving for Cambodia on Sunday, President Marcos acknowledged that his Cabinet members are “unjustly beleaguered.”

“I will have to just say that I perfectly understand why you are feeling a little unjustly beleaguered,” he said.

“I hope, lumamig na yung mga ulo ninyo (I hope you have cooled down),” he added.

President Marcos has already directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to review questionable items in the DPWH budget and submit errata to Congress.

Malacañang has stressed that the review mechanism is already underway and that legislative scrutiny during budget hearings remains the proper venue to resolve concerns.

President Marcos earlier said he would not hesitate to veto dubious provisions once identified.