Marcos warns vs mangling of 2026 national budget

MANILA, Philippines — As far as President Marcos is concerned, having a reenacted budget next year is more tolerable than implementing a spending bill that is inconsistent with his administration’s expenditure program.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address yesterday, Marcos warned against mangling the national budget, saying he would not approve any outlay that is not in line with the government’s plans for the nation.

“For the 2026 national budget, I will return any proposed general appropriations bill that is not fully aligned with the National Expenditure Program,” the President said.

“And further, I am willing to do this even if we end up with a reenacted budget,” he added.

The budget for the previous year is automatically reenacted if a fresh appropriations law is not enacted. Officials have said that a reenacted budget delays the implementation of key projects, disrupts job generation and poverty reduction efforts and impedes economic growth.

Marcos made the remark after admitting that some of the country’s flood control projects are substandard and vowing to press charges against those involved in irregularities that worsened the effects of recent cyclones.

The President had vetoed P194 billion worth of items in this year’s P6.326-trillion national budget, saying they are not in line with his administration’s priorities. The vetoed items consisted of more than 170 public works projects worth P26 billion and 15 unprogrammed appropriations worth P168.24 billion. Before signing the 2025 budget, Marcos revealed that a lot of amendments were made in the funding requests of various agencies.

In May, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Marcos is closely watching the process for next year’s national budget to ensure that it is in line with the administration’s priorities and contains only shovel-ready projects.

In his veto message for the 2025 national budget, Marcos cited the need to ensure that government targets are responsive to Filipinos’ needs. He called for a “conscientious” use of the budget to sustain growth, manage inflation and fast-track the implementation of social services and structural reforms.

“We must be clearly driven by this goal because much as we want to do everything we wish for our people immediately and all at the same time, our finite resources compel us to exercise sound judgment to ensure our fiscal sustainability – we must not compromise our future, thus the imperative need to program our priorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Martin Romualdez backed Marcos’ directive to realign national priorities with the everyday needs of Filipinos.

“The President’s message was clear: make government work better for the people. As Speaker, I am committed to making sure the budget reflects that – every centavo must go where it’s needed most,” Romualdez said in a statement.

The Speaker said the House leadership is prepared to act decisively on long-needed structural changes to the national budget process, and that these reforms must prioritize accountability, eliminate inefficiencies and ensure that spending directly addresses the needs of Filipino families. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab