By Brian Campued
The Department of Budget (DBM) and the Cabinet of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. are ready to defend the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) before Congress, ensuring transparency and accountability in the administration’s “Agenda for Prosperity” under the “Bagong Pilipinas”.
This was the statement of DBM Sec. Amenah Pangandaman as she transmitted the Executive’s proposed 2026 spending plan to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
“Nais ko din pong ipaalam sa inyo na pinaghirapan po ito ng ating mahal na Pangulo mismo, who personally sat down with each agency, not just once but several times, asking their concerns, their needs, and planning with them how we can make our Agenda for Prosperity truly felt by the Filipino people,” Pangandaman said in her message.
According to the DBM chief, the administration’s economic managers evaluated agency submissions to come up with the P6.793-trillion budget plan within the available fiscal space of the government.
The programs and projects outlined in the 2026 NEP, Pangandaman said, were based on alignment with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, shovel-readiness, absorptive capacity of agencies, fiscal space, and impact.
“This ensures that even as we strengthen the economy and strive to achieve the nation’s full potential, we remain committed to reducing the budget deficit,” she said.
Highlighting the salient points of the 2026 NEP, which can be accessed by the public through the DBM website, Pangandaman said that 34.1% of the total budget will be allocated to Social Services at P2.314 trillion.
In terms of sectors, basic and higher education will receive P1.224 trillion, covering the Department of Education, State Universities and Colleges, Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
“For the first time, the budget for basic and higher education has been increased monumentally to meet UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recommended education spending target of at least 4.0% of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product),” Pangandaman noted.
About P320.5 billion will be allocated to the health sector for the expansion and improvement of healthcare services nationwide, including subsidies for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) as well as funding for Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) centers.
Under the proposed P239.2-billion budget for agriculture and agrarian reform, P10 billion will go to the implementation of the Rice for All Program, which provides P20 per kilo rice through KADIWA centers and local markets across the country.
The administration’s flagship “Build Better More” infrastructure program will receive P1.556 trillion, while ICT and digitalization will get P87.33 billion.
“Sisiguraduhin po namin na bawat budget na ambag ng buwis at dulot ng pawis ng ating mga kababayan ay mauuwi sa kanilang kaginhawahan,” the DBM chief stressed.
House assures full transparency in budget review
House Speaker Martin Romualdez assured the public that lawmakers will rigorously review the 2026 NEP as budget season officially begins following Wednesday’s turnover of the proposed spending plan.
In line with this, Romualdez enumerated five reforms that the House will implement on its budget review to ensure transparency, inclusivity, and accountability.
The changes that the chamber intends to make include the removal of the “small committee” it formed in the past to collate institutional amendments; opening of the Bicameral Conference Committee to the public and the media; inviting civil society organizations, people’s organizations, and private sector in budget hearings; strengthening of the House oversight function in the execution of the budget; and prioritization of key sectors that directly affect the people.
“Bawat piso, may pinaglalaanan; bawat gastusin, dapat may pakinabang sa tao,” Romualdez said.
“In the coming weeks, we will review every page of this NEP guided by one question: ‘Makakabuti ba ito sa ating mga kababayan?’ If yes, we will support it. If not, we will work to make it better. A budget the people can trust is a government the people can believe in,” he added. (with report from Mela Lesmoras / PTV News)
-jpv
