Escudero: Marcos can’t expect unchanged budget
MANILA, Philippines — Following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s stern warning to Congress to retain his proposed version of the 2026 national budget, Senate President Francis Escudero said the spending plan will inevitably be changed in one form or another.
During his fourth State of the Nation Address, Marcos warned that if lawmakers do not approve a budget aligned with the National Expenditure Program (NEP), he will reject it—even if that means the government has to operate under a re-enacted budget.
The NEP is the executive branch’s official budget proposal submitted to Congress.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, July 29, Escudero said that just because the Executive outlined the NEP does not mean it is automatically correct.
He also pointed out that Cabinet secretaries themselves often request changes to the budget during congressional deliberations.
“No NEP is perfect. But as long as it is based on discussions made openly with transparency and accountability, I do not see a problem,” Escudero said.
Escudero suggested that Marcos should instruct his secretaries that once the Department of Budget and Management submits the NEP, they could no longer appeal for any changes.
Bicam
Responding to calls for an open bicameral session (a typically closed-door meeting between lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate to reconcile their versions of the budget), Escudero did not give an explicit answer, opting to reason that nothing much happens there other than a series of computations.
Escudero has been tagged in allegations of anomalous insertions in the 2025 national budget, but has vehemently denied this.
While Escudero has not stated whether he was willing to open the bicam, several senators have voiced the need for a completely open bicam.
In a joint resolution, minority senators Tito Sotto, Ping Lacson, Loren Legarda, Risa Hontiveros, as well as majority Sens. Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino have called for an open bicam following the anomalies surrounding the 2025 national budget.
“All bicameral conference committee deliberations shall be open to the public, conducted in person or through digital livestreaming. The bicameral conference committee shall produce a matrix comparing the differences between the House of Representatives' and the Senate's versions of the bill, and how these differences were resolved. This matrix will be made available to the public,” the joint resolution moved.
- Latest
- Trending
