A budget for redemption, a promise for trust

The passage of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 in the House of Representatives is Congress' wager for redemption more than an annual undertaking. In an era still stained by the specter of the anomalous flood-control projects and murky budget insertions, this bold spending framework offers a chance to heal the breach between state and citizen, to show that politics need not be a game of hidden agendas but a covenant of service.

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When the controversy over questionable flood control projects erupted, public outrage was not merely about money lost; it was betrayal felt deep into the bones. It was the anguish of countless Filipinos who have long suspected that public funds means “special interests.” The damage was not just fiscal; it was moral. Today, amid skepticism, Congress must show that it has learned that every peso bears a human story.

Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III calls this budget “the first step toward a transparent budget.” Under this version, “nothing was hidden, nothing kept secret,” and “there is no other goal but to ensure that every peso of our citizens’ taxes returns to them in the form of opportunity, service, and hope.” This assurance matters. In a single, crisp commitment he frames not just an accounting reform but a moral imperative: the people's money is for the people. To fulfill that promise, this budget must be lived, not just passed.

How then can this be the budget that redeems Congress?