House approves PHP 6.793T budget bill on final reading

The House of Representatives on Monday passed on final reading the proposed PHP 6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, concluding 62 days of deliberations marked by heightened scrutiny over a widening corruption scandal involving flood control projects.

Majority or 287 congressmen approved the revised budget bill that rechanneled the bulk of funding from numerous flood control projects under the Public Works department to priority sectors such as education, in a move aimed at strengthening human capital development.

Twelve congressmen voted against the measure, while two opted to abstain from voting.

“This budget cycle is unprecedented,” Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing, who heads the House Appropriations Committee, told the floor. “We needed to navigate through complexities while implementing sweeping reforms in long-standing budget processes and traditions.”

Lawmakers deliberated on House Bill No. 4058 or the 2026 General Appropriations Act against the backdrop of the multibillion-peso flood control controversy, drawing in closer-than-normal scrutiny amid calls to make the budget process more transparent.

The 2026 spending plan, which was 7.4% higher than this year’s national budget, saw a select committee of lawmakers redirecting PHP 201.1 billion or 78.86% of the PHP 255 billion worth of funding originally intended for flood control infrastructure primarily towards education, food and healthcare sectors.

The House sub-committee on Budget Amendments Review last week finalized a PHP 56.6-billion increase in education sector funding under the proposed budget, bringing total allocations to a record PHP 1.28 trillion, Ms. Suansing said.

This includes a hike in allocation for the Education department’s new classroom funding by PHP 35.09 billion. “[This] will translate to around 25,200 new and rehabilitated classrooms,” said Ms. Suansing.

The sub-panel rechanneled about PHP 90.7 billion to the health sector, with the bulk of the funding going to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) subsidy at PHP 60 billion, following last year’s controversy over the government’s pullout of funds from the state health insurer.

It also raised total health allocations by 28.3% to PHP 411.2 billion from the PHP 320.5 billion initially proposed by the Budget department. This includes a PHP 26.73-billion increase for medical assistance to indigent Filipinos.

Lawmakers increased agriculture sector funding by 22.46% to PHP 292.94 billion next year, as they sought to boost food security and improve programs aimed at helping local producers.

Changes include increased funding for the Agriculture department’s farm-to-market road projects by PHP 16.78 billion under the spending plan. Congressmen also raised allocations for financial aid to farmers to PHP 10 billion from the initial PHP 7 billion, which will benefit 1.43 million farmers, Ms. Suansing said.

Lawmakers also included a PHP 10-billion hike for the Labor department’s displaced-worker program, increasing it by 88.2% to PHP 22.14 billion next year.

Unprogrammed funds

At the same time, the lower chamber scrapped PHP 35 billion in unprogrammed appropriations intended for infrastructure programs, leaving only PHP 45 billion out of the PHP 80 billion originally allocated under the budget bill. This is under the bill’s Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs.

“Congress has removed infrastructure from the list of allowable uses for unprogrammed appropriations… a move aimed at preventing potential misuse of these funds,” said Ms. Suansing.

She said foreign-funded infrastructure projects would only be eligible for standby funding, since the government must provide counterpart funding to support them.

“We cannot remove unprogrammed funding under foreign assisted projects because we cannot turn on our agreements at the international level,” she added.

Congressmen also adopted a proposal last week by Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila M. de Lima to reduce Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s budget to PHP 733.2 million from the initial PHP 902 million, mirroring a cut made during last year’s deliberations.

“It seems that the rechanneling of the PHP 255 billion only reinforced ‘pork barrel’ politics,” AJ A. Montesa, an advisor at budget watchdog People’s Budget Coalition, said in a Viber message before the spending plan’s approval.

Mr. Montesa said the prioritization of funding for the government’s assistance programs for indigent Filipinos indicates that lawmakers are still intent on perpetuating patronage politics.

“While these programs are branded as ‘assistance’ for people in need, we must also confront the fact that they are largely driven by patronage and clientelism,” Mr. Montesa said.

“Congress should prioritize programs which are rules-based and rights-based, not those which are subject to the discretion of lawmakers and local politicians… these only serve to further entrench poverty and inequality,” he added.

While the reallocations signal a shift towards human capital development and are “commendable in principle,” much depends on whether the funds are spent efficiently and free from corruption, John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said in a Viber message.

IBON Foundation Executive Director Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa said the spending plan fails to provide sufficient funding for critical sectors, warning that it falls short of addressing economic challenges amid slowing growth.

“The budgets for education, health, housing and social protection are hyped as big, but are still very far below what the poor and middle-class need,” Mr. Africa said in a Viber message before the budget bill’s approval. “Agriculture, and especially small Filipino firms, are also left far behind.”

The government is targeting economic growth of 5.5-6.5% this year and 6-7% in 2026.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s allies in the lower chamber likely moved to boost funding in education, health and agriculture as the government sought to ease discontent over the scandal involving infrastructure spending, said Arjan P. Aguirre, who teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University.

“These moves are just meant to ease the tension, meant to please the already disgruntled people,” he said in a Facebook messenger chat.

The budget bill still needs the Senate’s approval before heading to the bicameral conference committee, where conflicting provisions of both House and Senate versions will be reconciled. Once the final budget bill is ratified by Congress, it will be transmitted to Malacañang for signing by the President.

Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos III said the lower chamber will act on a proposal seeking to open the bicameral conference committee talks on the proposed budget to the public “as soon as possible.”

“Given the fact that the House has been prioritizing… the passage of the budget, we will make sure that once the… House has more time, we will be able to address the said resolution,” he told the House floor.

Budget watchdogs have urged lawmakers to open the joint congressional committee to public scrutiny, as the traditionally closed-door process has kept people in the dark about last-minute changes to the national budget. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter