Recto urges Congress to stick to fiscal plan in budget talks

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has called on lawmakers to follow the government's updated Medium-Term Fiscal Program (MTFP) as they prepare the 2026 national budget, stressing the need to use public funds wisely and effectively.

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"Let us operate within the parameters of the Medium-Term Fiscal Program that reduces our deficit and debt gradually, creates jobs, increases income, and decreases poverty," Recto said during a briefing with the House Committee on Appropriations on August 18, as reported in the Finance Department's website.

He added that the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) must "work as hard as the people who fund it—the taxpayers."

The Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF), first created in 2022, was revised in 2024 by Secretary Recto to make its goals more realistic and responsive to current global challenges. These include the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts such as the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran, as well as ongoing trade tensions.

The revised framework aims to reduce the country’s budget deficit and debt slowly but surely, while also creating jobs, raising incomes, and helping more Filipinos escape poverty.

"And under this, we have ensured that every peso collected or borrowed will be stretched to deliver the biggest bang per buck for the Filipino people," Recto said.

Recto reported that government revenues have been on a strong upward trend, growing by an average of 13.8% annually for the last three years. Tax collections have also steadily risen by 11.5% annually. In 2024, the revenue-to-GDP ratio reached 16.7%—the highest in 27 years.