By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, A reporter
PHILIPPINE lawmakers on Thursday reconciled controversial provisions of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, ending a Congressional review of the spending plan marked by one of the most controversial measures in recent years amid a corruption scandal over flood control projects.
They intend to approve the budget bill in the last week of December, giving President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. a short window to review the spending plan despite Congress’ intent to allow the Executive more time.
Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, said the bicameral report will likely be signed on December 28 and approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives on December 29, while Mr. Marcos is expected to sign it that day without a vote.
The President has until December 31 to sign the spending bill, or next year’s budget will automatically revert to the 2025 budget.
Congress will amend its legislative calendar to accommodate the measurefiDate of application, Nueva Ecija Rep. and House Appropriations Committee chairperson Mikaela Angela B. Suansing, as lawmakers will adjourn next week.
“I am sure that nothing will be prevented,” said Mr. Gatchalian told reporters after the bicameral congressional committee’s deliberations on House Bill No. 4085.
Senators and congressmen in a bicameral congressional committee resolved their disagreements after six days of debates, broadcast live for the first time, and disagreements over funding for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that threatened to stall proceedings.
“This budget will really address the needs of our people, and above all, this budget is free of corruption,” said Mr. Gatchalian told a joint congressional delegation. “Most importantly, this budget, I would say, will be a level of transparency.”
The reconciliation of the separate appropriations between the House and the Senate marks the end of their review of the budget of the Executive Council, which was submitted in August and rewritten with reforms to restore public trust after a multibillion-peso recovery program that includes complex agreements and infrastructure.
Final allocations for other line items were not immediately available, although Mr. Gatchalian said the updates will be posted online for public scrutiny.
The panel agreed to cut P20.7 billion from the DPWH budget, based on adjusted material costs, instead of the P45 billion cut originally sought by the senators.
“I am confident to say that there are no very expensive items in this budget,” said Mr. Gatchalian. Controversies over DPWH funding stalled talks earlier in the week, with congressmen warning that further cuts could disrupt economic activity.
Public Works Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon on Sunday called on lawmakers to restore the cut funding, warning that low government spending could hurt growth, which fell to 4% in the third quarter amid corruption.
“As much as possible, we want to avoid the economic impact of unfulfilled projects,” Ms Suansing told the same panel. “It could have a huge impact on our economy.”
“It will affect the use of our infrastructure and that will have a negative impact on our growth,” he added.
John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior researcher at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said lawmakers likely want to balance support for economic growth and direct funding to the agency involved in the growing flood control scandal.
“Maintaining the full cuts would have sent a strong signal to accountability, but the limited recovery sees the need to support activity,” he said in a Viber message. “Ultimately, the right course of action depends on whether lawmakers can prove the value of money. Otherwise, high spending risks do more harm than good.
The bicameral panel kept the P255 billion cut for flood control activities, although Mr. Gatchalian said ongoing projects still have funds under the previous budget.
“That does not mean that there are no more flood control plans,” he said. “There are still projects estimated at P300 billion that have not been completed.”
Lawmakers increased the budget of the Department of Education by 9.9% to P961.3 billion, mainly to support the construction of 34,000 new classrooms by 2026, and increased the allocation of the school supply program to P25.6 billion to increase the standard of education from 120 to 180 days.
“The redistribution is very welcome as this will help address learning problems,” Philippine Education Business Executive Director Hanibal Camua said in a Viber message.
The Department of Agriculture and its agencies were increased by 20.7% to P185.77 billion for farm-to-market roads, post-harvest services and other modernization programs.
Shares of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) increased by 14.8% to P129.78 billion, partly from DPWH savings. This includes R60 billion that will be returned to the government’s health insurance after authorities transferred it last year to other programs, following a High Court order in early December that it be returned through the budget.
“This is not enough to cover the premiums of 24.5 million indirect contributors,” the People’s Budget Coalition said in a report, adding that lawmakers failed to require gambling organizations to contribute under the Universal Health Act.
Funding for the Department of Health’s program to provide financial assistance to poor patients increased to R51 billion, from P24.2 billion under the Executive’s proposal.
Two rail projects also had low stakes after a joint congressional panel. Funding for the North-South Commuter Railway has been cut by 50% to P28.8 billion from P57.6 billion, and the budget of the Metro Manila Subway Project was reduced by 48% to P20.4 billion from P39.2 billion, and the rest of the money saved was redirected to the expansion of the Light Rail Transit (LRT-1) Cavite and the development of the Metro Manila railway.
The bicameral congressional committee also agreed to increase funding for the government’s cash assistance program for poor Filipinos, long criticized as politicized, by 8% to P63.9 billion from P59 billion in the budget bill.
The construction of the military base received another P2.38 billion, while the modernization programs were kept at P40 billion, and another P50 billion of the unplanned budget will be available if the revenue is favorable.
Unplanned funds, which are meant to be used in case of surplus or new collections, now total P243.4 billion, including the increase in the promotion of automobile production to P4.3 billion from P333 million. Mr. Gatchalian said the funds will not be used for flood control or unrelated projects.
The budget will go back to each chamber for separate approval before it is sent to Malacañang for review by Mr. Marcos.
“We just want to give assurance that the Executive has enough time to review,” Ms. Suansing told reporters after the bicameral panel’s deliberations.
Mr. Gatchalian said Congress is working with the Department of Budget to ensure a timely review of the final spending bill for 2026, as they are yet to finalize the documents to be submitted to the Executive.
“What we are doing now is a coordinated review,” he told reporters. “They have real-time numbers.”
Mr. Marcos last year objected to line items costing P194 billion in the 2025 P6.326-trillion national budget, saying the ones he removed were not in line with the administration’s priorities. This year’s spending plan has faced controversy during the 2024 negotiations over allegations of empty items filled by the Executive and reduced standby funds.
‘SEEING IN WORK’
Analysts said that while the budget process was live-streamed, it was a high-profile affair as lawmakers held closed-door discussions during long recesses and did not provide open access to documents.
“The live broadcast of the bicameral conference was a great transparency,” said Joy G. Aceron, director of the transparency group G-Watch, in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“It is not enough for part of the budget process to be transparent, there must be transparency, participation and accountability at all levels from preparation to implementation and accountability,” he added.
Meanwhile, AJ A. Montesa, who is a consultant in the People’s Budget Coalition, said that the 2026 spending plan is still full of “pork barrel” inclusions, such as those provided for the poor assistance program of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Health.
“For any positive adjustment made by the DPWH budget, it seems that Congress has now turned to stopping the pig from the soft programs made as aid,” he said in a Viber message.
On the other hand, Mr. Gatchalian said “there is no budget without mistakes,” adding that people will always find shortcomings.
“You will always find areas that are lacking, but you will also find good features,” he told reporters in Filipino.
