The Budget Amendments Review Sub-committe (BARSc) of the House Committee on Appropriations meticulously realigned during a marathon hearing Monday, Sept. 22 the P255.528 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that was initially earmarked for flood control projects.

The BARSc--billed as the replacement of the now notorious "small committee"--spent over nine hours identifying items in the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026 that needed additional funding the most.

The hearing was adjourned at 7:33 p.m. It was livestreamed from start to finished, something that the traditional small committee never did.

"As per our commitment to abolish the small committee, we have now institutionlized the creation of the the Budget Amendments Review Sub-Committee," appropriations panel chairperson, Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing said.

"Again this is unprecedented, it has never happened in the history of Congress that we had to reallocate such a big amount," Suansing said of the P255.528 billion that was dropped by the DPWH from its 2026 allocation following President Marcos' directive that no flood mitigation project would get funded next year.

BARSc carried out the line-by-line, agency-per-agency realignment during a day of suspended work at the House of Representatives, with the hope that the proposed amendments to the 2026 GAB could be approved in time for the plenary debates on the budget scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

The lion's share of the proposed realignments went to the sectors of health, agriculture, and education.

"Marami pa po (There are a lot more) as identified, but these are the top three already comprising...that's already 65 percent [of the P255 billion] across the three...sectors identified by the President as the most critical for the reallocation. We're happy right? We're happy with that already," Suansing said.

Under the proposed partitioning of what was formerly flood control project funds, the health sector through the Department of Health (DOH) will receive P89.281 billion, or 34.9 percent of the funds.

The agriculture sector, through the Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA), will receive P44.367 billion (17.3 percent).

Meanwhile, a total of P37.303 billion out of the P255 billion will be reallocated to the education sector. This will cover allocations for the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Philippine Science High School.

Suansing underscored that these amounts are on top of the funding listed for the agencies under the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP)--the basis of the GAB as embodied in House Bill (HB) No.4058.

Specific amendments proposed by BARSc to the 2026 budget measure include an additional P32.06 billion to the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep, Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan made this proposal as he noted that the DSWD's allocation under the NEP was P26.97 billion--over P10 billion less than its requested budget of P37.68 billion next year.

Libanan also pitched several other amendments, like a P14.81 billion augmentation for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program.

The minority leader also suggested that DOLE’s Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program be increased by P3.312 billion; the Special Training for Employment Program by P635.2 million; and P356 million for the TESDA Training for Work Scholarship Program.

The BARSc also approved an additional P22.5 billion for the DepEd's Basic Education Facilities (BEF), or the funding for the construction of new and the rehabilitation of existing classrooms.

During the deliberations, Suansing noted that President Marcos in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), mentioned that there was a 40,000-classroom backlog across the country.

"The wisdom of the BARSc is we want to keep it (BEF) at least at P20 billion so we can do a few adjustments na lang po once we finish it,” she said.

Suansing and company also green-lit an additional P60-billion subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for next year.

The panel chairperson noted that PhilHealth was allocated P53 billion under the 2026 NEP, and the additional P60 billion would bring its total funding to P113 billion.

“I believe that is in line with the pronouncement of the President, right? That the amount of P60 billion be returned to the PhilHealth, is that correct? Is that why you’re proposing for an increase in PhilHealth?” Suansing asked Surigao del Sur 1st district Rep. Romeo Momo Sr., who made the proposal.

“Yes, this is in line with the pronouncement of our beloved President, to return back what was taken from the last budget, to PhilHealth," Momo said, referring to the P60 billion that the national government took from the state health insurer.