Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday assured that he will oppose any item in the proposed 2026 national budget that did not appear in the versions approved by either chamber as lawmakers prepare for bicameral conference negotiations.
He stressed that the Senate will guard against what he described as unauthorized additions that may surface during the final phase of the budget process.
“That is what we will guard moving forward, especially in the bicam conference. We will no longer allow alien projects, meaning projects that are not in the original proposal or those that suddenly appear in the bicam,” said Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance.
The senator argued that these insertions undermine the integrity of the national spending plan by introducing projects that were never reviewed, debated, or aligned with the administration’s original priorities.
He made the statement after Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson disclosed that some executive officials allegedly misrepresented the President during deliberations on the 2025 budget.
Lacson’s account raised concerns that about one hundred billion pesos in additional appropriations were inserted during last year’s bicameral talks.
Gatchalian said he intends to address these concerns directly as the Senate prepares its negotiating position for the 2026 budget.
