By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
CONGRESS on Monday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, marking the end of contentious deliberations that unfolded against the backdrop of a multibillion-peso corruption scandal.
Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, said next year’s budget is mainly focused on improving education, health, and agriculture.
“These highlights illustrate our commitment to strengthening the services that carry the most significant impact on the daily lives of our fellow Filipinos — better education for our children, adequate healthcare for those in need, and long-term food security for our communities,” he told plenary before the Senate ratified the report through a voice vote.
At the same time, the House of Representatives approved the ratification of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in under two minutes, also through a voice vote.
After Congress’ ratification, the GAA will be sent to Malacañang for President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s signature.
Mr. Marcos is expected to sign the 2026 national budget on Jan. 5.
Mr. Gatchalian said the bicameral panel had also enforced safeguards that would ensure transparency and accountability during budget process.
“The bicameral conference committee was also very deliberate in ensuring that equal attention was given to protecting the management of public funds — through safeguards that are anchored on transparency and accountability,” he said.
Reforms include the uploading of budget documents online, the livestreaming of bicameral proceedings, and the involvement of civil society in budget deliberations.
This year, several transparency initiatives were implemented during budget deliberations, amid public outrage over congressional insertions and opaque allocations in the 2025 national budget.
Government officials, lawmakers and contractors allegedly colluded to siphon off billions from funds meant for flood control projects.
During deliberations, the bicameral panel raised funding for the education sector to P1.35 trillion, which Mr. Gatchalian said was equivalent to 4.4% of economic output.
The budget of the Department of Education was increased by P47.18 billion to P961.32 billion, which would mainly be used for the construction of 34,000 new classrooms.
Funds would also be used to support the school feeding program with P25.7 billion aimed at covering 180 days and the procurement of textbooks at P19.51 billion.
“There will be clear and meaningful steps to reduce the shortage of classrooms. Millions of malnourished students will benefit from the School-Based Feeding Program. And we will ensure that every student has their own textbook,” Mr. Gatchalian said.
The budget of state universities and colleges was also raised by P6.22 billion to P137.9 billion under the 2026 national spending plan.
Funding under the health sector now stands at P447.6 billion, after lawmakers raised the Department of Health’s budget by P14.68 billion to P297.85 billion.
The budget of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) was increased by P16.52 billion to P129.78 billion as the additional funds were rechanneled from the Public Works department.
Mr. Gatchalian said the panel also hiked funding for Zero-Balance Billing program for government hospitals to P1 billion, and expanded the program to include selected local government units.
The panel had also raised the Agriculture department’s budget by P5.48 billion to P185.77 billion to fund the construction of farm-to-market roads, post-harvest facilities, and support its modernization program.
“Programs that will help our farmers’ income and our country’s food security, such as credit insurance and direct market access, will now be properly funded,” the senator said.
The bicameral committee has slashed the Department of Public Works and Highway’s (DPWH) budget by P94.89 billion to P529.595 billion, mainly from the P52.3-billion cut for foreign-assisted projects.
Unprogrammed allocations are now set at P243.4 billion, close to the P250 billion under the National Expenditure Plan. These include P4.32 billion to support Fiscal Support Arrearages for Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program, and P250 million for the Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement Program.
Unprogrammed appropriations are standby funds for pre-planned government projects or emergency contingencies, which are sourced from revenues or new collections.
Adolfo Jose A. Montesa, an adviser for the People’s Budget Coalition, said that delays in the bicameral conference could have been avoided if lawmakers had finalized the funding for infrastructure projects before the start of proceedings.
“The delays could have been avoided if the finalization of the projects of the DPWH, farm-to-market roads, etc. came earlier than the bicam, which it should have,” he said in a Viber message.
Mr. Montesa said there were improvements in the budget process “but there has been a clear crisis of trust in the budget process, which requires more than just piecemeal or incremental reforms.”
“Full transparency is necessary, but not sufficient,” he said. “Declaring that the budget is ‘corruption-proof’ or ‘pork-free’ should be up to the people, not the politicians.”
John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said that delays in the budget proceedings indicated a week institutional capacity and coordination.
“Compared with 2025, the budget process showed greater emphasis on transparency, but the persistence of delays suggests that institutional capacity and coordination still lags,” he said in a Viber message.
He said that transparency measures must translate into timely approval and faster execution that should support growth.
“A reenacted budget in the first week of 2026 would have limited but noticeable short-term effects. Day-to-day government operations continue, but new projects, capital outlays, and program expansions are delayed, which can soften economic momentum early in the year especially for infrastructure, procurement, and employment linked to public spending,” Mr. Rivera said.
“Growth may see a temporary drag in Q1 as agencies wait for authority to release new funds. This can be recovered later if catch-up spending is executed well,” he added.