ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Palace confident 2026 national budget is legally sound

Palace confident 2026 national budget is legally sound

Published Jan 6, 2026 05:49 pm
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 at the Ceremonial Hall of on Monday, January 5, 2026. The national budget, enacted as Republic Act No. 12314, amounts to Php6.793 trillion. In his speech, President Marcos vowed to ensure that every peso of the Php6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 will directly benefit the Filipino people. Marcos emphasized that all programs and projects will undergo strict scrutiny to deliver concrete results, especially for the most vulnerable sectors.He said the 2026 budget reflects the government’s commitment to more prudent, careful, and responsible public spending.The President noted that the national budget is designed to sustain progress in education, health, food security, social protection, and job creation. He also called on the public to actively participate in safeguarding the budget, stressing that vigilance, transparency, and citizen involvement are vital to a functioning democracy. PHOTOS BY YUMMIE DINGDING / PPA POOL
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signs the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 at the Ceremonial Hall of on Monday, January 5, 2026. The national budget, enacted as Republic Act No. 12314, amounts to Php6.793 trillion. In his speech, President Marcos vowed to ensure that every peso of the Php6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 will directly benefit the Filipino people. Marcos emphasized that all programs and projects will undergo strict scrutiny to deliver concrete results, especially for the most vulnerable sectors.He said the 2026 budget reflects the government’s commitment to more prudent, careful, and responsible public spending.The President noted that the national budget is designed to sustain progress in education, health, food security, social protection, and job creation. He also called on the public to actively participate in safeguarding the budget, stressing that vigilance, transparency, and citizen involvement are vital to a functioning democracy. PHOTOS BY YUMMIE DINGDING / PPA POOL
Malacañang has asserted that the 2026 national budget is legally sound and expressed confidence that it will withstand scrutiny.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said President Marcos and his administration are confident that the national budget, which was signed on Monday, Jan. 5, would be able to withstand legal scrutiny or even constitutionality concerns.
"Opo, confident po sila na ginawa po ngayon na budget ang pinaka-malinis, pinaka-maayos at ito ay para sa taumbayan. So, confident po ang Pangulo (Yes, they are confident that the budget prepared now is the cleanest, most well-organized, and designed for the people. So, the President is confident)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Castro made the comment in response to reports that some individuals plan to raise questions before the Supreme Court regarding the remaining unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The Palace official said that while anyone has the right to file a case before the Supreme Court, the administration is prepared to respond to any petition challenging the constitutionality of this part of the 2026 national budget.
"May karapatan po sila na dumulog sa Korte Suprema at tanungin kung unconstitutional ang parte na ito ng 2026 national budget. So, tingnan lamang po natin (They have the right to go to the Supreme Court and question whether this part of the 2026 national budget is unconstitutional. So, let us just wait and see)," Castro said.
"Of course, kapag po sila ay nag-file petition sasagot naman po ang administrasyon at tingnan na lamang po natin kung ano ang magiging resulta at magiging desisyon ng Korte Suprema (Of course, if they file a petition, the administration will respond, and we will just have to see what the outcome and decision of the Supreme Court will be)," Castro added.
Marcos signed the P6.793-trillion national budget which, Marcos said, is meant to restore public trust and enforce accountability after a year marked by disasters, economic strain, and the exposure of corruption in government.
While he vetoed P92.5-billion in the budget covering seven items under unprogrammed appropriations, he retained P150-B in unprogrammed funds.

Related Tags

President Marcos 2026 national budget Unprogrammed funds Claire Castro
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.