2026 budget proposal heads to Congress for deliberation

LAWMAKERS should avoid compromising the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for next year through congressional insertions, which could undermine the Philippines' fiscal consolidation efforts and hamper growth prospects, analysts said on Tuesday.

- By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio Reporter

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday received a copy of the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) from Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman during a ceremonial turnover at Malacañan Palace.

The record P6.793-trillion spending plan for 2026 will be formally submitted to Congress today (Aug. 13). It is 7.4% higher than this year's national budget, and is equivalent to 22% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

With the theme "Agenda for Prosperity: Nurturing Future-Ready Generations to Achieve the Full Potential of the Nation," the Palace said next year's budget "will build on the solid foundations laid over the past three years of (Mr. Marcos') administration."

John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said the 2026 budget will be pivotal in funding the Marcos administration's priorities at the midpoint of his six-year term and is critical to keeping the reform agenda on track.

"A well-prioritized budget can spur infrastructure, social protection and job creation. But if questionable insertions divert funds from high-impact projects, they could dilute growth momentum and make fiscal targets harder to hit," he said in a Viber message.

"Any misallocation at this point could slow the country's trajectory and make catching up in the last two years far more difficult," he added.

Next year's budget is expected to face more public scrutiny after the 2025 national budget was hit with allegations of fund diversions, blank line items by the Executive and concerns over outsized public works allocations.

In his State of the Nation Address, Mr. Marcos warned Congress that he will not sign any General Appropriations Act (GAA) that is "not fully aligned" with the NEP.