Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has refuted claims that the Senate—particularly he and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson—had cut the budgets of congressional districts, calling the accusations “unfounded” and “black propaganda.” Sotto said this on...
Starting December 1, e-bikes and e-trikes will be banned from major roads. The Department of Transportation (DOTr), together with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), made this commitment on Thursday, Nov. 27, during the Senate plenary deliberation of its proposed 2026 budget. It clarified,...
In less than five minutes, the Senate plenary approved on Thursday, Nov. 27, the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed P889-million budget for 2026. Vice President Sara Duterte personally went to the Senate plenary and faced the chamber. The Senate granted the OVP a budget that is P156...
The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday, Nov. 27, welcomed the joint endorsement of major business and education groups for the proposed P1.38-trillion allocation for the education sector in the 2026 national budget, which the agency described as a vote of confidence in its reform...
There 's still no sign of Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa even as the interpellation of the 2026 budget nears its end. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Wednesday, Nov. 26, that Dela Rosa 's staff reached out to him to say that he will not arrive to sponsor the budget of the Department...
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday evening flagged several “duplicate” projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in its corruption-filled 2025 budget, saying these could have been designed to “confuse and corrupt.” During the Senate...
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri called on the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) to employ a public “shame campaign” against local governments and national agencies accused of rampant red tape. Zubiri made the appeal as Senate finance chair Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian defended the...
Senator Robin Padilla presented on Tuesday, Nov. 25, an unverified audio recording allegedly made to sound like a conversation between a certain Presidential Communications Office (PCO) official and an unidentified individual linked to troll farms, which he said surfaced online and required the...
Recognizing that the increase brings the country closer to global standards in education spending and reflects a clear commitment to long-term human capital development, an industry-led advocacy group on Tuesday, November 25, expressed strong support for the proposed allocation for the education...
The Department of Education (DepEd) is poised to accelerate major education reforms in 2026 after the Senate approved a significantly higher budget for the agency, signaling strong support for DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and the Marcos administration’s push to improve learning outcomes...
Senator Rodante Marcoleta raised questions over whether the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) dozen major interventions—amounting to P212.5 billion under the Senate version of the 2026 national budget—are reaching their intended beneficiaries and meaningfully reducing...
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson underscored on Saturday, Nov. 22, that the Senate will not allow the reenactment next year of the 2025 national budget--the same budget that had earlier been described as corrupt to the core. Lacson says this is why the Senate is adopting measures...
