2026 nat'l budget hurdles Senate with 17-0 vote

The Senate yesterday approved the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 on third and final reading, sending the spending plan to a bicameral conference committee that is expected to convene on Dec. 12.

- By NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS

All 17 senators present voted in favor of the General Appropriations Bill, with no objections or abstentions.

The chamber also registered no further questions on the measure before the vote.

Senators who weren't present when the voting began were Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Ronald dela Rosa, JV Ejercito and siblings Mark and Camille Villar.

The 2026 budget — one of the largest in the country’s history — strengthens key government programs aimed at addressing public needs while tightening transparency and accountability safeguards throughout the budgeting process.

The bicameral panel, composed of Senate and House representatives, will reconcile differences between the two chambers’ versions from Dec. 12 to 14.

Senators in the chamber’s contingent to the bicameral panel include finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian, deputy majority leader Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Francis Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Go, Pia Cayetano, Marcos and the Villars.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was initially designated to the Senate contingent but withdrew.

Gatchalian said the Senate version significantly boosts allocations for classrooms, school feeding and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Education spending now stands at P1.37 trillion, or P91.24 billion higher than the House version, with funds to build more than 24,000 new classrooms and expand the feeding program to 200 school days for 4.8 million learners.