Palace to lawmakers: Speed up 2026 national budget deliberations

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday urged lawmakers to hasten the passage of the proposed 2026 national budget to avoid a reenacted spending plan.

- By Chloe Mari A. Hufana Reporter

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. wants Congress to move swiftly on the budget bill, Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said.

"The President does not want a reenacted budget. So, we should move as quickly as possible. Even though time is short, hopefully we can speed things up," she told a Palace briefing in Filipino.

The proposed 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) has been subject to more scrutiny after allegations that billions of pesos of unprogrammed appropriations were inserted in this year's national budget.

The Budget department defines a reenacted budget as "a situation where the previous year's GAA is extended and remains in effect for a preceding year until such time Congress passes a budget bill into law."

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said on Monday that the chamber is on track to pass the budget bill.