Budget bill expected next week

THE House of Representatives is expecting to receive the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 by next week, a congressman said on Monday, with discussions kicking off in September.

The House appropriations committee plans to hold hearings with civil society groups on the proposed national budget, taking advantage of a lull in the budget schedule ahead of formal panel deliberations, said Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing, who leads the chamber’s budget committee.

“We are still finalizing it,” she said in a media briefing in mixed English and Filipino. “But the estimate is the second week of August, around the week of Aug. 13.”

The Development Budget Coordination Committee has proposed a P6.793-trillion spending plan for 2026, 7.4% higher than this year’s allocation and equivalent to 22% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Despite deliberations on the proposed budget starting in September, Ms. Suansing said the House remains on track to submit the spending plan on schedule.

“We assure you that even though formal discussions will start on Sept. 1, we are already conducting preliminary activities beforehand,” she said. “We will get the budget passed on time.”

She said that the House plans on approving the budget bill on second reading by October, before Congress takes a month-long break. “Ideally, the third reading approval will be when we resume session by November.”

Also on Monday, Ms. Suansing said she plans to introduce sweeping reforms to the budget process, aimed at making the discussions more transparent.

This comes after the 2025 budget process drew criticism when the bicameral committee raised unprogrammed funds to more than P500 billion and inserted allegedly blank line items, prompting concerns that changes were made after Congress ratified the bill.

“We want to unveil the shroud surrounding budget discussions,” she said. “We will prove to the public that Congress is not hiding anything when it comes to the budget.”

She said she plans to abolish the House’s “small committee” tasked with consolidating individual changes to the national budget bill, replacing it with a subcommittee on budget amendments review.

“This body will facilitate and deliberate on the amendments submitted by agencies and our colleagues in the House,” she said, noting that the subcommittee will review proposed tweaks to the spending plan while the budget process is ongoing from August to October.

“This means that our fellow citizens can see the proposed amendments, how they are being deliberated, and most importantly, which ones are approved and included in the proposed national budget,” she added.

Ms. Suansing also plans for the House appropriations panel to host a “People’s Budget Review” ahead or alongside formal discussions.

“During the People’s Budget Review, people’s organizations can ask questions about the National Expenditure Program (NEP), and not just ask questions, but actually suggest and tell us what their thoughts are,” she said.

The House budget panel chief also wants to open the budget’s bicameral conference committee discussions open to the public.

“Through opening the bicameral panel, the public will see how the final budget figures are decided on,” said Ms. Suansing. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio