The leadership of the House of Representatives is eyeing to extend for one week its session to make way for the plenary discussions on 2026 national budget, Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III said.
“At the moment, we are going to hold a consultation, so that perhaps we could extend (our sessions) by another week to ensure that our budget for next year would be passed properly,” Dy said in a radio interview.
The House leader made the statement as Congress is set to adjourn on Oct. 10 for a Halloween break. Dy hinted that the sessions at the House might be extended until Oct. 17 if there is a need to do so.
“We have yet to discuss that thoroughly, but if we need to extend by another week, if that must be done, then we will extend for another week,” said Dy, who represents the sixth district of Isabela.
The House is expected to pass the money measure embodied in House Bill 4058 (General Appropriations Bill) on second reading when Congress adjourns in October. The third reading is approval of the measure shall follow when sessions resume in November.
Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing, chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, earlier said the P6.793 trillion proposed national budget is equivalent to 22 percent of the GDP.
The budget is also centered on human capital development as underscored by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his 2025 SONA.
“In the national expenditure program, the President stressed that the 2026 budget must nurture a future-ready generation — one that is healthy, educated, resilient and competitive,” Suansing said in her sponsorship speech of the measure.
The Suansing-led panel has also approved a committee report containing the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee’s (BARSc) reallocation of the P255.53 billion budget removed from the flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
She said the amount was reallocated to education, health, agriculture, labor and other human capital programs following President’s directive to set a zero allocation for new flood control projects.
