Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson warned on Sunday, December 14, that restoring the items cut from the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at the bicameral conference committee level will reopen the floodgates to insertion. Lacson made this...
As lawmakers start threshing out the differing provisions in their version of the 2026 national budget, senators zeroed in on the questionable budget increase for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and farm-to-market roads (FMR). Senate President Pro...
Senator Imee Marcos on Saturday, Dec. 13 flagged the sharp increase in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) classroom construction budget, despite the agency’s rather lackluster 23 percent absorption rate. During Bicameral Conference Committee deliberations on the proposed 2026 national...
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has asked the Senate to reconsider 2026 budget reductions, citing the need to apply updated construction cost data to ensure accurate project costing and proper execution. DPWH said the request focuses on securing authority to implement...
Senator Imee Marcos raised concerns over the supposed absence of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget during the first day of the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget on Saturday, Dec. 13. During the proceedings, Marcos appeared puzzled...
Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, including three other senators were absent on the first day of the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings on the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026 on Saturday, Dec. 13. A day prior, Senate Finance Committee...
The Bicarmeral Conference Committee hearings on the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2026 will begin Saturday, Dec. 13, with more eyes expected to watch every move of the lawmaker-participants than in any other bicam in history. For the first time...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian hopes that Senator Ronald Dela Rosa will fulfill his duties in the upcoming Bicameral Conference Committee, or bicam, as it begins its deliberations on Saturday, Dec. 13. In a Zoom interview on Friday, Dec. 12, Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said...
Highlighting the government’s push to equip teachers and learners with up-to-date devices and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-era skills, Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara said the department is strengthening its digitalization drive as it teams up with major firms to modernize...
President Marcos said his wish this Christmas is simple but difficult to achieve: securing “a good budget” from Congress and finding more time with his family amid the demands of the presidency. In a podcast conversation with university student journalists, posted on his social media pages on...
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson defended the necessity of Unprogrammed Appropriations under the Special Purpose Fund in the national budget saying these are constitutional and even necessary. But Lacson said use of the Unprogrammed Appropriations however, should strictly...
President Marcos will not certify as urgent the proposed national budget for next year as it is expected to be submitted for approval before Christmas, Malacañang said. "Hindi ngayon (Not now)," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Wednesday, Dec. 10, when...
