P243B in unprogrammed funds restored at bicam

MANILA — Despite earlier assurances from senators that unprogrammed appropriations (UA) would be removed, the bicameral conference committee largely adopted the House of Representatives' version of the 2026 national budget, restoring it to more than P243 billion.

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The Senate-approved version of the 2026 budget set unprogrammed appropriations at P174.55 billion, cutting P68.66 billion from the House-approved level of P243.22 billion.

However, as the bicam reached the final stretch to pass the budget, lawmakers not only restored the UA to the House-approved level, but slightly increased it.

The House-approved UA was P243,222,549,000. The bicam approved the UA at P243,400,650,000, raising the funds by P178.101 million.

CLOSE TO EXECUTIVE PROPOSAL

The executive branch had originally proposed P249.98 billion (P249,989,309,000) in unprogrammed appropriations in the National Expenditure Program, meaning Congress reduced the amount by only about P6.5 billion from the original proposal.