The education, health, and agricultural sectors are the biggest beneficiaries in the 2026 budget in the proposed P6.79-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) that the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading on Monday.
On Tuesday, Rep. Mikaela Suansing, the House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson, described the House GAB as a budget “that is truly responsive to the needs of the Filipino people and our country – a budget that Congress can be proud of.”
Under the House GAB, or House Bill (HB) 4058, a total of 1.28 trillion has been set aside for education, which Suansing said is “the highest education budget in history (breaching) the four percent international benchmark.”
Suansing explained that the allocated funds enable the government to provide full funding for Republic Act 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) Act.
She estimates that some 2.49 billion learners will be provided with scholarships through the increased allocations for the UAQTE and other government programs.
The House 2026 GAB also allocates P411.2 billion for the health sector, of which P113 billion has been set aside to subsidize various programs of the Philippine Healthcare Insurance Corporation (Philhealth).
The House also allotted 49 billion to support the zero-balance billing program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for indigent patients.
Furthermore, the House GAB added P553.7 billion to agriculture, raising the sector’s total 2026 budget to P292.9 billion.
For this amount, P10 billion was set aside for the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk program, to benefit an estimated 1.43 million farmers and fisherfolk.
Solons also allocated P74.5 billion to finance the construction of farm-to-market roads and irrigation infrastructure next year.
Likewise, P30 billion has been earmarked to support farm mechanization.
The increase in the budgets of these sectors was sourced from the P255 billion originally allocated for flood control projects, which have been discontinued.,
