Following the government’s historic P1.38 trillion allocation for the education sector, an industry-led advocacy group urged lawmakers on Wednesday, November 19, to ensure full transparency in the 2026 national budget process. Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) Executive Director Bal Camua,...
Despite the recent movement in the Cabinet, Malacañang made an assurance that the national budget for next year will be passed on time. Palace Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro gave an assurance that changes of leadership in the Department of Finance (DOF) and...
The Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) is considering crafting a river basin master plan by next year, Senate Finance Committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said on Monday, November 17. Gatchalian, who sponsored the budget of the DEPDev during the deliberations on the proposed...
The Senate is planning to approve next year’s budget that is lower than the Executive department’s proposal under the National Expenditure Program (NEP), Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said. Sotto disclosed this during an interview at the sidelines of the turnover ceremony of...
The Senate will no longer allow “alien” provisions to be included in the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026. Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said this was the agreement in the Senate to make the budget process open “all the way to the bicam, and all the...
Senator Pia Cayetano on Tuesday, November 4 urged lawmakers to ensure that the P60-billion budget returned to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) must be kept in the 2026 national budget. As ordered by President Marcos, Cayetano said the President’s directive should not only be...
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero is now pushing for a bill seeking to standardize the budgeting process for infrastructure projects and curb overpricing through a Detailed Unit Price Analysis (DUPA) system. Escudero introduced the DUPA system under Senate Bill No. 1467, which he filed on...
Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a resolution asking the Senate to examine the implementation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program which he noted is seemingly moving at a slow pace. Estrada, in filing Senate Resolution No. 161, said there is a necessity for...
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has validated 798 of the 946 infrastructure projects flagged by senators as “reappearing” items in the proposed 2026 national budget. DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, during the Senate budget deliberations on Monday, said the validated projects,...
Senators Loren Legarda and Bam Aquino on Monday, Oct. 20 pressed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to implement an across-the-board reduction of 20 to 30 percent in its infrastructure line items, as they cited recent corruption scandals that revealed systemic overpricing of...
The General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2026, the government’s proposed spending measure for its operations programs and projects, is now available on the House of Representatives’ website. https://docs.congress.hrep.online/legisdocs/third_20/HBT4058.pdf Senate Finance Committee chairman...
Malacañang gave an assurance that the unprogrammed appropriations under the proposed 2026 national budget will not end up as "pork barrel." Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said that although P250 billion falls under the unprogrammed appropriations, it will be...
