Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the oath-taking of the new officers of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang Palace, Manila, on October 7, 2025.Mark Balmores, PPA pool

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MARCOS

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176704893288120251007-marcos-lcp-oathtaking-PPA-4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the oath-taking of the new officers of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacañang Palace, Manila, on October 7, 2025.Mark Balmores, PPA pool</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Malacañang is “now conducting a thorough review” of the ratified version of the 2026 General Appropriations Bill, to ensure the “integrity and effective execution” of the Philippines’ P6.79-trillion budget next year, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said on Tuesday, a day after the spending plan was transmitted to the Palace.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/29/house-ratifies-bicam-report-on-proposed-2026-national-budget-1413">Congress ratifies bicam report on proposed 2026 national budget</a></div><p>The review “is expected to take about a week,” Recto said in a statement.</p><p>“The President and his team are scrutinizing all allocations and provisions to fully account for any changes from the originally submitted National Expenditure Program (NEP),” he said.</p><p>“We will ensure that the 2026 GAA will satisfy not only the legal and technical requirements but, more importantly, the needs of the Filipino people,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;NO IMPACT&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Earlier this month, Recto said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the spending bill into law on January 5, leaving the Philippines with a reenacted budget for 5 days.</p><p>Despite this, Recto said that this will have “no impact” on the national economy.</p><p>Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian had given a similar view, noting that the Philippine government is on holiday from January 1 to 4, 2026.</p><p>“The public is assured that a brief period under a reenacted budget will not disrupt government operations,” the Executive Secretary said.</p><p>“This deliberate review safeguards fiscal discipline and ensures that taxpayers’ hard-earned money is spent wisely and translated into benefits for the Filipino people,” he said.</p><p>Administration lawmakers earlier described the 2026 budget as “pork-free,” supposedly due to limitations barring politicians from “influencing” or “participating” in the distribution of any cash aid programs.</p><p>But several House minority members have underscored that lump sums were simply transferred from district offices to local government units, and that several projects were placed under unprogrammed appropriations instead of giving the item immediate funding under the 2026 budget.</p><p>“It remains to be seen whether or not the guarantee letter for medical assistance and so on will be abolished by virtue of the wording of this special provision, so let’s see,” ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio told ANC’s Headstart.</p><p>Meantime, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice earlier said he would question the constitutionality of the 2026 budget before the Supreme Court should Marcos Jr. fail to veto several items, including the unprogrammed appropriations, saying that the high court had already declared these as unlawful.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v-4pTSeAOlc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The review “is expected to take about a week,” Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said in a statement.</p>

The review “is expected to take about a week,” Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said in a statement.

Malacañang ‘conducting thorough review’ of P6.79-T 2026 national budget

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Malacañang ‘conducting thorough review’ of P6.79-T 2026 national budget

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 30, 2025 06:57 AM PHT

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Malacañang

2026 budget

2026 General Appropriations Bill

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