Statement of Malacañang on P1-Billion Proposed Budget of Marcos’ Office for 2026 Travels
Malacañang defended the P1-billion request of the office of President Bongbong Marcos for his local and foreign trips in 2026.
The Congress is set to exercise its power with regards to the country’s purse once again following the submission of the P6.793 trillion National Expenditure Program or NEP for the proposed 2026 budget. Ahead of the budget talks, Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that she expects budget cuts for the OVP as she is not an ally.
Malacañang is mum on the claim of the Vice President. Following the submission of the NEP to the House of Representatives, Pres. Bongbong Marcos called on the Congress to “swiftly enact” the proposed 2026 budget.
According to Marcos Jr., the country can be a leader among nations most especially the Asia Pacific region. He also stressed that PH is currently on track with its agenda for prosperity. He called for cooperation towards achieving a new Philippines.
With regards to the proposed budget for the Office of the President, based on the NEP for the 2026 proposed budget, the OP is seeking P27.362 billion. It is way higher compared with the P15.9 billion budget of Marcos’ office for this year.
Furthermore, the office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos also has the biggest share in the proposed Confidential and Intelligence Funds based on the 2026 proposed budget. The Chief Executive’s office is asking for P4.5 billion CIF.
The proposed Confidential and Intelligence Funds for 2026 is lower than the P12.12 billion CIF for the current year. The budget proposal contains P10.77 billion CIF request. The other recipients of the proposed CIF are the following:
- National Intelligence Coordinating Agency — P1.141 billion CIF
- Department of National Defense — P1.848 billion CIF
- Other executive offices including the Anti-Money Laundering Council, National Security Council, and the Philippine National Police — P2.292 billion CIF
With regards to the proposed budget for the other key departments in the government based on the National Expenditure Program, here are the proposed funds:
- Department of Education (DepEd) — P928.5 billion
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — P881.3 billion
- Department of Health (DOH) — P320.5 billion
- Department of National Defense (DND) — P299.3 billion
- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) — P287.5 billion
- Department of Agriculture (DA) — P239.2 billion
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) — P227.0 billion
- Department of Transportation (DOTr) — P197.3 billion
- Judiciary Department — P67.9 billion
- Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) — P55.2 billion
The office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos also seeks P1,018,304,000 for the local and foreign travels of the Chief Executive in 2026. Recently, based on a report on Inquirer, Malacañang explained why Marcos’ office still has to ask P1 billion for his trips.
“The President always goes down to the communities to check the security and monitor what is happening in different parts of the country, especially when there’s flooding and other calamities,” Palace press officer undersecretary Claire Castro said.
Based on the report, the Malacañang press officer also stressed that “you can also see the President’s frequent travels, as he encourages other countries to invest in our country”.
However, what seems unexpected is the huge cut in the proposed budget for the House of Representatives led by presidential cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez for 2026.