Bicam OKs 2026 budget

• Farm-to-market roads get P33 B • DPWH budget cut goes to PhilHealth

- By MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

The bicameral conference committee finished reconciling the conflicting provisions of the Senate and House of Representatives General Appropriations Bill (GAB) during the wee hours of Thursday, moving to prevent a reenacted budget.

The bicam realigned P16.52 billion from the graft-tainted Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and retained unprogrammed appropriations and the so-called “soft” pork barrel aid programs in the GAB.

These include the controversial Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS).

The budget for farm-to-market roads, which the Senate originally set at P16 billion, went up to P33 billion amid concerns raised by budget watchdogs that it was prone to corruption.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who was not part of the bicam, said MAIFIP and AICS would have safeguards to prevent their use for political patronage.

The bicam's proposed 2026 budget for DPWH is now at P529.595 billion, down from the Senate GAB amount of P570.5 billion and House GAB’s P624.48 billion.

The DPWH budget was already significantly slashed by Congress earlier in the budget process, if compared to the executive department's proposed P880 billion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP), a result of the backlash from the flood control corruption scandal.

The DPWH budget was the lawmakers' last order of business at past midnight on Thursday, with the contentious agenda being the disagreement over the Senate’s proposed P45 billion reduction in DPWH’s GAB budget.