House open to discussing unprogrammed funds with Senate

The chairperson of the appropriations committee of the House of Representatives has expressed openness to discussing with the Senate the fate of unprogrammed appropriations (UA) in relation to the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026.

- DELON PORCALLA

“I am very much open to discuss with the Senate how to rationalize this. I would be very open as to what particular programs could be rationalized,” Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing told reporters at a briefing yesterday. “We're not zeroing out one option.”

“Discussions on the P243.2 billion UAs are not closed,” the Nueva Ecija first district congresswoman said. She and Speaker Faustino Dy III, however, are bent on keeping the standby funds to serve as buffer for emergency expenses.