Joselito Malig

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Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The House Committee on Appropriations’ Budget Amendments Review  Subcommittee (BARSc) convened on Monday to tackle the realignment of the P255 billion flood control funds slashed by the Department of Public Works and Highways from its proposed 2026 budget.House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Rep. Mikaela Suansing said the BARSc would only deliberate on the proposed amendments formally requested by the agency.“The BARSc will only deliberate on institutional amendments, meaning proposed amendments or requests that are submitted by the agencies themselves. We do not accept verbal requests. We do not accept even though it was manfiested during the committee deliberations, hindi po ‘yun sapat. The BARSc requires a formal, written request, signed by the head of the agency,” Suansing announced at the start of the meeting.“We will be guided by the sectors, the priority areas, as expressed by the President, ‘yung menu na inilatag ng ating Pangulo. We will of course take into consideration during today’s deliberations the need to prioritize education, health, agriculture, labor, and other sectors that pertain to human capital development,” she added.Of the P255 billion, the BARSc approved the realignment of P32 billion to DSWD’s Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situation or AICS program. This will augment the proposed 2026 budget for AICS to P59 billion.“That is a lot lower than the combined levels of AICS and AKAP in the 2025 budget,” Suansing commented.Under the 2026 National Expenditure Program, no funding was recommended for the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita program (AKAP).“The level of AICS as of 2025 is somewhere at P44 billion. It was reduced to P27 billion. The original request of the Secretary was to increase it by P43B to cover for the potential displacement of about seven million potential beneficiaries. This is in consideration that the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) was already eliminated form the current Natonal Expenditure Program, which was I think in th elevel of 26B as of this year,” Guimaras Rep. JC Rahman Nava said.The BARSc also proposed to augment the 2026 funding for the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disaadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program by P14.8 billion.It approved the proposal to realign P22.5 billion from the DPWH’s flood control budget to basic education facilities under the Department of Education. Suansing said the 2026 budget bill will contain a special provision that will allow four modes for the implementation of classroom construction: through the DepEd, the DPWH, local government units, and public private partnerships.“We have almost provided more than si times your original request. P3.3 billion lang ang request ng DepEd, but we’re giving them P22.5 billion. So we’d like to request the officials of DepEd to start thinking about how you can fasttrack the implementation of classrooms,” Suansing said.“At P2.5 million per classrooms, if this budget carries at P48.4 billion, that means we’ll be able to provide 19,360 classrooms. That’s the equivalent of 11.73% of the backlog,” FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party List Rep. Brian Poe added.“So we’re not just adding funds for the construction of new classrooms and school buildings, we’re also adding funds for the procurement of school desks. So matatapos na nag kwento ng classrooms na walang laman na desks,” House Deputy Speaker David Suarez noted.The BARSc gave “conditional approval” to the proposal to increase the 2026 subsidy for the Philippine Health Insuracnce Corporation by P60 billion. It will bring the total proposed government subsidy for the agency to P113 billion for next year, if PhilHealth will commit to expand its benefits package.“This is a conditional approval pending PhilHealth’s ability to ensure the members of the House that they will utilize the additional P60 billion in a way that will be beneficial to the Filipino people” Suansing said.Other items proposed to get additional funding next year from realigned flood control funds are the school-based feeding program, the special needs education program, the tertiary education subsidy, the Tulong Dunong program, and the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program, among others.The BARSc will submit the consolidated proposed amendments to the House Committee on Appropriations for its consideration on Tuesday. This will be included in the committee report on the proposed 2026 budget, which will be tackled by the House plenary this week.

The House Committee on Appropriations’ Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) convened on Monday to tackle the realignment of the P255 billion flood control funds slashed by the Department of Public Works and Highways from its proposed 2026 budget.

The House Committee on Appropriations’ Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) convened on Monday to tackle the realignment of the P255 billion flood control funds slashed by the Department of Public Works and Highways from its proposed 2026 budget.

House panel to realign P255-B flood control funds slashed from DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget

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House panel to realign P255-B flood control funds slashed from DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 22, 2025 11:33 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

BARSc

2026 budget

DPWH

flood control

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