Economic managers to brief House on P6.79 trillion national budget

MANILA, Philippines — Members of President Marcos’ economic team are set to conduct a briefing today on the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 that was submitted to the House of Representatives for lawmakers’ scrutiny. 

Set to brief the House plenary are officials who are part of the Development Budget Coordination Committee: Secretaries Amenah Pangandaman of the Department of Budget and Management, Ralph Recto of the Department of Finance and Arsenio Balisacan of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development along with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona. 

Budget deliberations will start tomorrow, where two of the national government’s revenue-generating agencies are scheduled to defend their 2026 budget – state-run Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. 

Next on the schedule are three independent constitutional bodies, on Aug. 26: the Civil Service Commission, Commission on Human Rights and Commission on Audit. 

The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Science and Technology will defend their budgets on Aug. 27.

House appropriations committee chair Mikaela Suansing previously confirmed that both chambers of Congress have agreed to amend the legislative calendar for their break, originally set at Oct. 3 and now moved a week later to Oct. 10. 

“Both houses have agreed that we will do our best to finish the budget as soon as we can,” she said. 

House members have vowed reforms to promote transparency and accountability in crafting the outlay for 2026. This comes on the heels of criticism that this year’s General Appropriations Act is “the most corrupt budget ever.”