Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will forgo the holidays in exchange for a meticulous review of the proposed 2026 national budget, Malacañang said Tuesday, Dec. 23, as lawmakers raise the possibility of a reenacted budget into early January.
Acting Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said the president has ordered a close scrutiny of the final version of the bicameral conference committee and to trace all changes from the original National Expenditure Program submitted to Congress.
“As early as now, the president is already mobilizing his team to facilitate the immediate review of all amounts and corresponding provisions agreed in the bi-cam and trace the changes made from the originally submitted National Expenditure Program,” Gomez said in a statement.
“This thorough review will ensure that taxpayers’ money will be put to good use, contributing to the attainment of societal goals that will be felt by all Filipinos, consistent with his pronouncement in the last State of the Nation Address,” he added.
The Palace reiterated that Marcos is determined to avoid a reenacted budget – a scenario in which the previous year’s spending plan extends to the next year without a new budget, but without new programs and projects.
Congress has adjusted its calendar, moving the final session days to allow ratification of the budget on Dec. 29.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said enactment could slip to the first week of January, meaning the government may operate under the current budget for a few days.
“If they have started reviewing it from now up to that time, there is a possibility,” Sotto told reporters. “But I doubt it. Perhaps sometime like the first week of January would be ideal na na-review na nila yun.”
[Translation: when they’ve already reviewed it].
Sotto downplayed the impact of a brief reenacted budget but noted the importance of careful scrutiny, saying Congress would not allow “blind ratification.”
