'Institutional courtesy': Marcos' P27.29-B budget for 2026 breezes House panel delibs

MANILA, Philippines — The budget for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s office once again breezed through House committee deliberations, marking the fourth year in a row he has been granted a free pass due to "institutional courtesy." 

It only took around 42 minutes and a 56-5 vote to end committee deliberations for the Office of the President (OP). No interpellations questioning the P27.29 billion budget allocation were made. 

Although the committee swiftly ended deliberations on the OP's budget, Makabayan bloc lawmakers raised objections during Monday’s appropriations panel briefing on Monday, September 8.

After the OP presented the proposed budget to the committee, House Deputy Minority Leader Nonoy Libanan introduced the first motion to terminate deliberations, while adding a caveat.

He, however, was quickly interrupted by objections from Rep. Renee Co (Kabataan Party-list) and Rep. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers Party-list).

Appropriations Committee Senior Vice Chairperson Albert Garcia allowed Libanan to finish his motion, during which the lawmaker stressed that pressing concerns still needed to be addressed.

The only question answered 

Before Libanan officially moved to terminate deliberations, he sought clarification from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who issued a statement on Saturday, September 6, telling the House to “clean your house first” amid flood control anomalies allegedly linked to Congress members. 

RELATED: ‘Clean your house first!’: Cabinet tells House amid flood control probe

Bersamin said the statement reflected a consensus among Cabinet officials who wanted to stress their “institutional separation of powers” from the House of Representatives, particularly as an independent commission is being formed to investigate failed and abandoned flood control projects.

Both chambers of Congress are also holding their own legislative inquiries into the issue, even as lawmakers in both the House and Senate face allegations of links to government contractors.

"We do not intend to rile up the tension between our departments. We come here seeking your support for our institutional budget," Bersamin said. 

"There is nothing intended that is malicious," he added. 

Libanan then moved to terminate the budget deliberations for the Marcos' office, but said lawmakers who wished to raise clarificatory questions or deliver manifestations should still be allowed to do so. 

Tinio immediately objected, citing the many questions surrounding how taxpayers’ money is being used — not only in flood control projects but also in confidential and intelligence funds.

"Now is not the time for parliamentary courtesy, but for full transparency in the budget process," he said, urging to scrutinize how the president continues to receive P4.5 billion in confidential and intelligence funds.

Tinio challenged the OP yesterday to waive parliamentary courtesy and open its budget to scrutiny, after Cabinet officials condemned how some lawmakers were unfairly shifting corruption allegations onto the executive branch.

Second motion to terminate

Following Tinio's manifestation, House Deputy Speaker Faustino Dy III introduced the second motion to terminate the budget deliberations, this time invoking "institutional courtesy." While some raised points of order, Garcia set them aside to call for a vote on the pending motion. 

After around 55 members voted in favor, five against and one abstained, the appropriations panel adopted the motion. 

"The committee hereby terminates the budget hearing on the proposed budget of the Office of the President in observance of the institutional courtesy and without prejudice to the constitutional authority of Congress over the general appropriations bill," Garcia said. 

Lawmakers were then allowed to deliver their manifestations.

'Unfair'

Rep. Paolo Henry Marcoleta (Sagip Party-list) argued it was unfair for the appropriations panel to invoke parliamentary courtesy for the president, saying the tradition should not be applied “selectively,” especially since the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) budget had been “tremendously scrutinized.”

In 2024, committee deliberations on the OVP’s 2025 budget stretched for hours and were even deferred to another day to continue scrutiny, particularly over the use of confidential funds. The appropriations panel eventually slashed the budget to P733 million.

Co also objected, arguing that Congress has the power to waive parliamentary courtesy for the country’s two highest offices, as it has done in the past.

Rep. Eli San Fernando (Kamanggagawa Party-list) added that Marcos himself called for transparency and accountability in the budget process, so it is only necessary for the committee to forego parliamentary courtesy. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list) clarified that she abstained from the vote, recognizing both the courtesy accorded to the president's office and lawmakers' right to ask the agency questions about the budget utilization and proposed allocations. 

Budget hiked for ASEAN Summit

In the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the OP was allotted P27.29 billion in new appropriations. Its total obligations, however, amount to P27.36 billion, most of which are allocated for maintenance and other operating expenses.

Another notable increase is for local and foreign missions and state visits, which rose to P1.018 billion from P982.6 million in 2025.

The proposed budget marks a 72% increase from the P15.85 billion allocated in 2025, which the agency said was largely earmarked for the Philippines’ hosting of the ASEAN Summits and related meetings in 2026. Around P17.55 billion was allocated for the locally-funded project. 

Garcia said that although the OP’s budget deliberations were terminated at the committee level, lawmakers’ concerns and questions would still be addressed in the plenary, where the appropriations panel sponsor will defend the proposal.