‘Only P5.4 trillion available for 2026 programs’

MANILA, Philippines —  Only P5.44 trillion of the Marcos administration’s proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 can actually fund projects and programs within the year, a Mindanao lawmaker warned.

Citing official reports, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab said the 2026 cash disbursement program allocates P1.190 trillion for prior years’ obligations, leaving only P5.440 trillion to fund projects and services for the year.

As much as P1.353 trillion worth of obligations under the 2026 budget may have to be settled in succeeding years, underscoring what he described as a troubling buildup of accounts payable, he said.

Unpaid obligations from previous years have more than doubled in recent years – from P464 billion in 2022 to an estimated P1.190 trillion by 2026.

Payables expected to be settled beyond the year of obligation have ballooned from P533 billion in 2022 to P1.353 trillion in 2026.

The lawmaker pressed economic managers from the Development Budget Coordination Committee to explain the gap between the proposed P6.793-trillion obligation budget and the P6.630-trillion programmed cash disbursement.

“The public must also be made aware that announcements of 80 percent, 90 percent or even 100 percent budget releases by the Department of Budget and Management often refer only to the authority to obligate, not actual cash payments. Large amounts remain unpaid and are carried over as accounts payable, some of which linger for years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parañaque Rep. Brian Yamsuan welcomed the inclusion of two of his proposed budget increases for the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the 2026 spending bill.

COA’s budget was raised to P14.05 billion from P13.88 billion, while CHR's allocation rose by P85.86 million.

In another development, public school teachers are set to finally receive their long-delayed performance-based bonus before yearend, Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing, chair of the House appropriations committee, said.

In a separate development, Education Secretary Sonny Angara welcomed the Senate’s pledge to increase DepEd’s proposed 2026 budget of P928.52 billion by at least P194.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian assured the public yesterday that the controversial Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program will no longer be revived, calling it a redundant and irregular funding scheme. – Bella Cariaso, Marc Jayson Cayabyab