Dennis Gaviola

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Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The proposed 2026 national national budget hurdled the House of Representatives on third and final reading on Monday, with more than P200 billion in unprogrammed appropriations (UA) retained.During the House plenary session, 287 House members voted in favor of passing the 2026 House General Appropriations Bill, 12 voted against it, and two abstained.For some congressmen who voted against the bill, the UA should have been removed from the 2026 proposal. In the past, some questionable flood control projects were supposedly inserted in the unprogrammed appropriations.“Nagiging kumbinyenteng parkingan ang unprogrammed appropriations ng mga dapat naman ay programado’t obligado nang mga gastusin… My stand against unprogrammed appropriations is a constitutional imperative. ‘Wag lang zero, kundi no, no. U-A, go away!” ML Party List Representative Leila De Lima said.“Sa 2026 budget, tuloy pa rin ang ligaya dahil meron pa ring Unprogrammed Appropriations…basta na lang ipinauubaya sa Executive Department kahit hindi malinaw kung paano ito gagamitin at kung saan ito mapupunta.,” Akbayan Party List Representative Chel Diokno added.“Billions are still hidden in unprogrammed appropriations, confidential and intelligence funds, farm-to-market roads, and other discretionary infrastructure projects.In other words, before us is a pork feast for the powerful and scraps for the people. Kahit anong palit ng pangalan o porma, pork is pork. No matter how you plate it, it still stinks of corruption,” Gabriela Party List Representative Sarah Elago, for her part, said.House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Rep. Mikaela Suansing defended the move to retain the UA, saying locally funded infrastructure projects were already removed from it to prevent possible abuse.“Ibig sabihin po nito, wala nang flood control projects, mga tulay o mga kalsada na pwedeng hugutin mula sa Unprogrammed Appropriations… (03:24) Sisiguraduhin po natin na hindi maaabuso ang Unprogrammed Appropriations,” she said.Sagip Party List Representative Paolo Henry Marcoleta, meanwhile, criticized the lower chamber’s move to reduce the proposed 2026 budget for the Office of the Vice president to P733.2 million, the same level as the OVP’s budget this year.“This disregards the real and tangible work done on the ground… public service should be funded based on impact, not politics,” he said.“Nagpapasalamat tayo sa pagtanggap ng Komite sa ating amendment na bawasan ang budget ng Office of the Vice President dahil sa hayagang pambabastos ng mismong Bise Presidente sa Kongreso at sa ating Konstitusyon–sa paulit-ulit niyang hindi pagsipot sa plenaryo para ipaliwanag at ipagtanggol ang budget ng OVP,” De Lima countered.For Batangas 1st District Tepresentative Leandro Leviste, the DPWH should reduce its project prices.“Pagkatapos ng lahat ng flood control hearings in aid of legislation, hindi natin dapat aprubahan ang parehong mga presyo sa mga proyekto ng DPWH,” he said.House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III acknowledged that the proposed 2026 nationa budget may not be perfect, but he said it was, at least crafted transparently.“Isang budget na ginawa sa liwanag, hindi sa dilim; na pinagtuunan ng sapat na oras, at nangibabaw ang puso at isip—hindi ang pansariling interes.Sa ilalim nito, walang naitago, walang tinago, at walang ibang layunin kundi tiyakin na ang bawat piso ng buwis ng ating mga mamamayan ay bumabalik sa kanila sa anyo ng oportunidad, serbisyo, at pag-asa,” he said.<div>OPEN BICAM?</div>Some congressmen called for open bicameral conference committee meetings on the proposed 2026 national budget. A resolution on the matter is pending at the House of Representatives.House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos gave this assurance.“We will make sure that once the committee has more time, once the House has more time, we will be able to address the said resolution make sure the upper House is informed and hopefully will be in agreement with the said resolution.As the chairman of the committee on rules, you can be rest assured ma’am that we will address it as soon as possible once this budget is voted on 3rd reading,” he said.<div>REALIGNED FUNDS</div>Of the P255 billion flood control allocation slashed from the Department of Public Works and Highways’ original budget proposal for 2026, P56.6 billion were realigned to the education sector, P90.7 billion were added to the proposed funding for the health sector, and P53.7 billion went to the agriculture sector.The total budget for the education sector will be P1.28T, the highest ever in the history of our country. This is the first time ever in our history that we have breached the 4% international benchmark,” Suansing said.“Sa ilalim ng budget na ito, tinugunan natin ang panawagan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na palakasin ang mga pangunahing sektor ng ating lipunan, lalong-lalo na ang edukasyon, ang kalusugan, at ang panlipunang pangangailangan,” Dy added.

The proposed 2026 national national budget hurdled the House of Representatives on third and final reading on Monday, with more than P200 billion in unprogrammed appropriations (UA) retained.

The proposed 2026 national national budget hurdled the House of Representatives on third and final reading on Monday, with more than P200 billion in unprogrammed appropriations (UA) retained.

House approves P6.79-trillion 2026 national budget

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House approves P6.79-trillion 2026 national budget

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 13, 2025 08:50 PM PHT

|

Updated October 13, 2025 11:26 PM PHT

Read More:

House of Representatives

2026 national budget

national budget

budget deliberations

unprogrammed appropriations

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