The Department of Budget and Management on Wednesday formally submitted to Congress the government’s proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, outlining a record spending plan aimed at boosting social services, infrastructure, and fiscal stability.
Education (P928.5 billion), public works (P881.3 billion), and health (P320.5 billion) remained the top sectors to receive the biggest allocations under the proposed National Expenditure Program for 2026, the same ranking as this year’s budget.
The proposed national budget for next year is 7.4 percent higher than the enacted 2025 budget.
The 2026 NEP, the Budget department said, aims to sustain the country’s economic growth momentum while strengthening commitment to nurturing “future-ready generations toward achieving the full potential of the nation.”
In his budget message, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines is “on track with our ‘Agenda for Prosperity’ and poised to be a leader among nations, especially in the Asia Pacific region.”
“We must not lose sight of our collective responsibility to ensure a brighter future for our people, especially the next generations,” Mr. Marcos said.
The proposed budget continues the administration’s fiscal consolidation program, with the deficit projected to narrow from 5.5 percent of GDP this year to 5.3 percent in 2026, and further down to 4.3 percent by 2028.
Revenue collections are expected to hit P4.983 trillion in 2026, up 10.2 percent from the P4.520 trillion programmed in 2025, driven by digitalized tax administration, recent tax reforms, and higher non-tax income.
As this developed, the Senate on Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution seeking to institutionalize transparency and accountability mechanisms in the national budget process.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance and sponsor of the measure, said Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4 (SCR 4) aims to usher in a “golden age of transparency” by ensuring that the public can access and analyze budget documents at every stage of the appropriations process.
Under the measure, the Senate and House of Representatives will upload on their respective websites documents such as the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), committee reports, bicameral reports, transcripts of budget briefings and hearings, and plenary deliberation records.
These documents must also be provided in machine-readable and searchable formats to enable effective public analysis.
The resolution also establishes an online platform where the public can submit suggestions, analysis, or criticism of the national budget.
Senator Panfilo Lacson expressed support for the measure after securing two key commitments from Gatchalian: that senators proposing budget amendments will help identify funding sources, and that the committee chair will disclose the identities and justifications of proponents behind insertions or realignments upon request during plenary deliberations.
“The outcome is the same —it is for transparency,” Lacson said.
SCR 4 was unanimously filed by senators in response to President Marcos’ call during his 2025 State of the Nation Address for greater transparency in flood control and infrastructure spending.
At the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin Romualdez said they would implement at least five reforms in the enactment of next year’s annual budget and its execution.
“A budget is not just a spending plan—it is a mirror of our priorities and a measure of our accountability to the people. And because this is the people’s money, the process of crafting it must be transparent, inclusive, and worthy of public trust,” Romualdez told his colleagues and DBM officials during the turnover of the NEP.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos also vowed to block the passage of any money measure that is far from the proposal submitted by the Palace.
“I will not allow a budget on the floor to pass that is a mutation of the NEP or that [has] become too far off from the NEP. As majority leader I won’t allow that,” said Rep. Marcos, who attended the budget turnover.
He said the House would remove the “small committee” it formed in the past after approving the budget to collate institutional amendments and would open the House-Senate conference to reconcile their versions of the budget to the public and the media.
Romualdez said the House will also invite civil society, people’s organizations, and the private sector to join budget hearings while strengthening the Lower Chamber’s oversight function in the execution of the budget, including requiring timely reports from agencies and real-time tracking of major projects.
The fifth reform measure entails the House prioritizing investments that “truly change lives” – agriculture for food security, infrastructure for connectivity and jobs, education for opportunity, health for all, and defense and disaster preparedness for national safety.
House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mika Suansing, for her part, thanked her Senate counterparts for approving the House’s request to adjust the legislative calendar to give lawmakers more time to scrutinize the budget proposal.
“More time means a better budget for every Filipino. This extension allows us to cover more ground, invite more resource persons, and scrutinize every department’s proposal with the diligence it deserves,” Suansing said.
Under the amended calendar, session adjournment in October will be moved from Oct. 3 to Oct. 11, with extended session periods ahead of the Christmas and summer breaks.
