Malacañang Palace has urged Congress, particularly the Senate, to move faster on approving the 2026 national budget to prevent the government from operating under a reenacted spending plan that the Palace earlier described as the most corrupt in history.
“They should be speeding up their work,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said during a briefing.
“We all know that the President does not want a reenacted budget. So as much as possible, let’s move faster, even if time is tight. Hopefully, we can speed things up,” she added.
President Bongbong Marcos has repeatedly pledged that the 2026 General Appropriations Act will be free of corruption. He contrasted this promise with the questionable items flagged in the 2025 budget, including duplicate entries and alleged fund manipulation.
As part of his effort to clean up the budget process, the President ordered the removal of all locally funded flood control projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways’ 2026 allocation. The move created P255.5 billion in fiscal space that will instead be directed toward social programs.
In his State of the Nation Address, the President warned that he would not sign any appropriations bill that allows misuse of public funds or deviates from his administration’s priority programs. He also said the government may be forced to operate under a reenacted 2025 budget amounting to P6.326 trillion if Congress delivers a bill that fails to meet those standards.
A reenacted budget takes effect when Congress does not pass a new General Appropriations Act before the year ends.
The Department of Budget and Management submitted the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program for 2026 on Aug. 13. The House of Representatives approved its version of the General Appropriations Bill on Oct. 13.
The Senate is expected to pass its version on Dec. 9. The bicameral conference committee, which will reconcile conflicting provisions between the House and Senate versions, aims to release its report by Dec. 16. Under this timeline, the President will have two weeks to decide whether to sign the bill in full or veto certain items.
Senator Win Gatchalian, chair of the Senate finance committee, said major points of contention in the bicam are expected to include funding for communities hit by Typhoons Uwan and Tino and the recent earthquake, as well as proposals to increase allocations for medical assistance and emergency employment. Lawmakers are also expected to discuss adjustments to the Armed Forces modernization program and P249 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
Since 2000, the country has operated under a reenacted national budget five times. Four of those occurred during former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term in 2001, 2004, 2006, and 2009. Another reenacted budget took place in 2019 under former president Rody Duterte when the passage of that year’s General Appropriations Act was delayed.
A reenacted budget uses the previous year’s allocations when a new spending plan is not approved on time.
