Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 policymakers, including the Philippines, are urged to balance near-term spending with long-term fiscal discipline as shrinking fiscal space and rising debt costs stress the need for consolidation to meet climate- and aging-related demands, according...
Urging full transparency and greater investment in education and human capital, an advocacy group on Saturday, August 23, called on lawmakers to prioritize Filipinos over infrastructure as they tackle the 2026 budget. “We must allocate our resources where they matter most, because every peso...
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito has slammed what he said are “obviously political” cuts in the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) budget for promotions in recent years. Ejercito said that due to the budget cuts the Philippines’ competitiveness in the global tourism market suffered. “In...
Government agencies posted a 94-percent utilization rate of their cash allocations in the first seven months of 2025, unchanged from a year ago, but the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) continued to trail behind. Latest data from the...
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said it has already ordered government agencies to submit their catch-up plans following its slowest spending in three quarters in the second quarter. “We already asked each agency to submit to us their catch-up plan,”...
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero has recommended that governors and city mayors be invited to the Senate’s upcoming public hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget. Escudero said he has made the suggestion to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance,...
The government has programmed ₱419.9 billion in infrastructure spending for the third quarter, the biggest quarterly infra disbursement for 2025, at a time when allegedly fraudulent flood control projects are taking the spotlight amid concerns about some wasteful and corruption-laden public...
Senator Erwin Tulfo on Tuesday, August 19 pressed government officials to explain numerous flood control projects poured into provinces that are not even among the country’s most flood-prone areas. Citing a list released by President Marcos, Tulfo noted that Cebu received 414 flood control...
A military and uniformed personnel (MUP) reform has not made the cut for the priority legislation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s three remaining years, as enacting changes would entail higher costs. “I think the reform will be more costly at this point in time,” Finance Secretary Ralph...
Asian exports, including those from the Philippines, are seen remaining resilient in the second half of the year, contrary to earlier expectations that regional shipments would slump once front-loading ahead of United States (US) tariffs wane, according to the think tank Capital Economics....
The Senate Minority bloc will no longer allow their colleagues in the Senate to play “hide and seek” during deliberations on the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026. Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri made the remark on Monday, August 18 assuring that the opposition senators...
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) welcomed on Saturday, Aug. 16, the proposed P11 billion allocation under the 2026 national budget for its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program and other emergency employment initiatives. DOLE said the funding will...
