Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday, September 2 called on Malacañang to draw up a “negative list” of infrastructure projects that cannot be funded under the 2026 national budget and should be vetoed outright by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Escudero said these should be...
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson lamented the low adoption of local development projects in the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026, noting that only 19.9 percent of the proposals from local development councils were included. “I noticed that only 19.9 percent of projects...
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) was warned on Monday, September 1 not to become an “accessory” again by prioritizing flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over the country’s education sector in the P6.79 trillion national budget for 2026. ...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Saturday, Aug. 30, that he already flagged questionable allocations in the budget request of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2026, similar to what Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson had already exposed. In an interview with DWIZ, Gatchalian...
Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri said on Friday, Aug. 29, that the national budget is being utilized for what he called a "money-making racket", a difference that he noted when it came to their role of scrutinizing it. According to Zubiri, when it comes to the budget process, parliamentary...
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...
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 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomed on Thursday, Aug. 14, the allocation of P40 billion for its revised modernization program under the proposed 2026 national budget. In a statement, the AFP said the allocation was a “clear statement of our nation’s resolve to protect its...
Malacañang explained that the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) was not given a fresh allocation in the proposed 2026 national budget because nearly half of its 2025 funds remain unused. In a press briefing on Thursday, Aug. 14, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the...
Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Wednesday, Aug. 13, scored an early win in his efforts to ensure transparency in the budget process, after he set two suggestions that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian agreed to. Following a "solution-finding discussion" on Wednesday morning,...
While the proposed 2026 national budget increased by more than seven percent, confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) were slashed by 11.2 percent, or ₱1.35 billion, from the existing national budget. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman reported during the ceremonial turnover of the fiscal year...
