House Speaker Martin Romualdez Speaks on Budget Deliberation of Proposed 2026 National Fund
ROMUALDEZ – The Speaker clarified that the House of Representatives will scrutinize the proposed 2026 budget not as adversaries of the executive department but its ally.
The House of Representatives has officially started the deliberation of the proposed 2026 national budget. It was last week when the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the lower chamber.
After the DBM has turned over the P6.793 trillion NEP for the proposed 2026 budget, President Bongbong Marcos called on the Congress to “swiftly enact” the proposed 2026 budget. According to him, the country is on track with regards to its “Agenda for Prosperity” and he called on the Congress for unity towards fulfilling a new Philippines.
Marcos Jr. believes that the country can be the leader among the nations most especially the Asia Pacific Region. For 2026, the Office of the President is seeking a total of P27.362 billion.
Out of the P27.362 billion budget sought by the OP for 2026, it is inclusive of the P1 billion budget that the office of Pres. Bongbong Marcos asks for his local and foreign travels. His office also has the biggest allocation for the Confidential and Intelligence Funds.
Out of the P10.77 billion CIF sought for 2026, the CIF proposed for Marcos Jr.’s office is at P4.5 billion. DBM stressed that the proposed CIF for next year is 11% lower than the approved CIF for this year which is at P12.12 billion. Here are the recipients of the proposed Confidential and Intel funds for 2026:
- Office of the President — P4.5 billion CIF
- 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
Prior to the start of the budget scrutiny, Malacañang previously said that Pres. Bongbong Marcos wants the budget talks accessible to the public as much as possible. House Speaker Martin Romualdez moved for “watchdogs” to be allowed during the budget deliberation but as non-voting entities.
With regards to the proposed funds for the other key departments in the governments, here are they:
- 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
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, as the budget talk kicks off, House Speaker Martin Romualdez assured that they will scrutinize the proposed 2026 budget. He stressed that every Peso should go to something that would benefit the Filipino people.
“Just as every Filipino household plans its budget with care, we too must ensure that each peso serves a meaningful purpose… Bawat gastusin ay dapat may pakinabang sa tao,” the House Speaker said.
Based on the report, aside from Romualdez, DBM chief Amenah Pangandaman, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan Jr., and Finance Secretary Ralph Recto were also present at the budget briefing. Meanwhile, the House Speaker also made it clear that they will scrutinize the proposed 2026 budget as an “ally” of the executive department.
“To our partners in the Executive Branch, allow me to be clear: We will scrutinize, we will question, we will deliberate thoroughly. But we’ll do so not as adversaries, but as allies united by a shared purpose,” Romualdez said.
The statement of allegiance of the House Speaker came amid the lower chamber’s proposed budget being hugely cut. Reportedly, the House of Representatives’ proposed budget is down by P16.8 billion for 2026.