Palace starts 'deliberate' review of budget bill

Malacañang has begun a "thorough review" of next year's P6.793-trillion national budget, ratified on Monday by Congress as the nation continues to reel from the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

- By ALEXIS ROMERO

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said a "deliberate" review of the 2026 budget "safeguards fiscal discipline" and "ensures that taxpayers' hard-earned money is spent wisely and translated into benefits for the Filipino people."

"The executive branch received on Dec. 29, 2025 the ratified 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and is now conducting a thorough review to ensure its integrity and effective execution," Recto said in a statement.

"We will ensure that the 2026 GAA will satisfy not only the legal and technical requirements but, more importantly, the needs of the Filipino people," he added. Recto said the budget review is expected to take about a week.

President Marcos and his team are scrutinizing all allocations and provisions to fully account for any changes from the originally submitted National Expenditure Program (NEP), he added. The NEP is the proposed national budget submitted by the executive branch to Congress.

Malacañang originally pushed for the signing of the 2026 national budget this year, but a change in the legislative calendar prompted a rescheduling of its ratification to Dec. 29. With the change in schedule, the appropriations measure for next year is expected to be signed into law in the first week of January, which means a reenactment of the 2025 budget in the first few days of 2026.

Experts have warned that a reenacted budget could delay the implementation of important projects and affect economic growth. However, Recto reiterated that a brief period under a reenacted budget would not disrupt government operations.

In July, Marcos said he would reject a spending bill that is inconsistent with the NEP even if the government ends up operating under a reenacted budget.

"For the 2026 national budget, I will return any proposed general appropriations bill that is not fully aligned with the National Expenditure Program," he said during his fourth State of the Nation Address.