Philippine debt to breach P19 trillion in 2026
Budget and Expenditures and Sources of Financing for the fiscal year 2026 showed the government is projecting that the total outstanding debt next year will amount to P19.057 trillion, higher than the projected P17.359-trillion debt level for 2025. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
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GMA Network
2 hours ago
- GMA Network
DBM allots P40B for 3rd tranche of gov't workers' salary hike
Civilian government workers should expect another round of increases in their salaries next year. At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum on Thursday, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allocated about P40 billion in the proposed P6.79-trillion national budget for 2026 'for the third tranche of Salary Standardization… effective January 1 next year.' 'That's four tranches until 2027,' Pangandaman said. The yearly salary increase for civilian government workers was pursuant to Executive Order 64, which was signed by President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. in August 2024. Marcos' EO 64 states that the updated Salary Schedule shall be implemented in national government agencies in four tranches, with the first implementation on January 1, 2024; the second on January 1, 2025; the third on January 1, 2026; and the fourth and final tranche beginning on January 1, 2027. This applies to all civilian government personnel, now existing or hereafter created in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches, the constitutional commissions and other constitutional offices, state universities and colleges, and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) not covered by Republic Act 10149 and EO 150, s. 2021, regardless of appointment status, whether regular, casual, or contractual; appointive or elective; and on a full-time or part-time basis. This shall not apply to military and uniformed personnel; government agencies that are exempt from RA 6758; GOCCs under RA 10149 and EO150; individuals engaged without employer-employee relationship and funded from non-Personnel Services appropriations/budgets, such as consultants and experts engaged for a limited period to perform specific activities or services with expected outputs, laborers engaged through job contracts (pakyaw) and those paid on a piecework basis, student workers and apprentices, and those whose services are engaged through job orders, contracts of service, or others similarly situated. The second tranche was implemented on January 1, 2025. Under the four-tranche salary standardization initiative, a typical government employee under Salary Grade 15, for example, could expect a minimum monthly salary of P42,178—an increment from the current P40,208 under the second tranche of the scheduled wage adjustment for bureaucratic workers. Also under the initiative, each of the salary grades from 1 to 32 has eight salary steps to determine the rate of salary depending on the length of service in the position. Only Salary Grade 33, the highest level, has two steps in the latest salary adjustment schedule. The first step represents the minimum or the hiring rate for the position or salary grade, while the second to seventh steps are the intermediate rates. The eighth step is the maximum salary rate. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- GMA Network
Palace defends OP request of confi, intel funds worth P4.5B
Malacañang defended Thursday the request of the Office of the President for a confidential and intelligence fund, saying that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is the chief architect of the country's security and foreign policy. ''Tandaan po natin, ito din naman po ay nanggaling sa DBM, that the President is the commander-in-chief and chief architect of national policy or national security and foreign policy at kinakailangan ng pondo ng Pangulo,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said at a briefing. (Let's remember, this also came from the DBM, that the President is the commander-in-chief and chief architect of national policy or national security and foreign policy; therefore, his office needs funds.) ''Ang tandaan po natin, ang confidential funds o ang pera ay hindi naman masama kung ginagamit sa tama. Ang confidential funds or pondo ay nagiging masama kung ginagamit ng isang corrupt iyon lang naman po,'' Castro added. (Let's remember that confidential funds are not bad as long as they are properly used. It would be bad if this will be used for corruption.) The Marcos administration is proposing over P10 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under the Fiscal Year 2026 P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP). The Department of Budget and Management said the Office of the President would get the highest CIF allocation at P4.5 billion, followed by the Department of National Defense with P1.848 billion. Confidential funds refer to allocations in the national budget, as its name suggests, for confidential expenses involving surveillance activities in civilian government agencies Likewise, intelligence funds are meant for expenses related to intelligence activities or information gathering activities of the military, uniformed personnel, and other intelligence agencies tasked with ensuring national security. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
21 hours ago
- GMA Network
Marcos admin proposes P10.77-B confi, intel funds for 2026; none for OVP
The Marcos administration is proposing over P10 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) under the Fiscal Year 2026 P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP). 'For the 2026 NEP, the total for confidential and intelligence funds is P10.77 billion,' Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said at a press conference following the turnover of the proposed national budget to the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The proposed CIF next year is lower than the P12.1 billion allocated under the 2025 General Appropriations Act. 'Ito po ay bumababa from the GAA ng P1.35 billion or 11.18%,' the Budget chief said. Broken down, confidential funds stand at P4.386 billion while intelligence funds amount to P6.398 billion. Confidential funds refer to allocations in the national budget, as its name suggests, for confidential expenses involving surveillance activities in civilian government agencies Likewise, intelligence funds are meant for expenses related to intelligence activities or information gathering activities of the military, uniformed personnel, and other intelligence agencies tasked with ensuring national security. Pangandaman said the Office of the President will get the highest CIF allocation at P4.5 billion, followed by the Department of National Defense with P1.848 billion. The entire proposed OP budget for 2026 stands at P27.362 billion, higher than the P15.9 billion under this year's national budget. 'Then other executive offices including the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Games and Amusement Board, NICA (National Intelligence Coordinating Agency), National Security Council, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Reconciliation and Unity, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency— will get P2.292 billion,' she said. Of the above-mentioned agencies, the Budget chief said the NICA will receive the bulk of the allocation at P1.471 billion. Other offices such the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman were also allocated with CIF at P10 million and P51 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President (OVP), for the second straight year, did not get a CIF allocation under the 2026 NEP. The OVP earlier said it did not request CIF for next year. Last year, the House decided to reduce the budget of the OVP from the originally proposed P2 billion to P733 million amid Duterte's refusal to answer lawmakers' questions on OVP budget use, including confidential funds. Under the 2026 NEP, the proposed budget for the OVP was set at P902.895 million. 'On our side, on the part of the House, we'll assess it [CIF] based on… general provisions there are certain agencies and offices that are allowed to have confidential and intelligence funds based on necessity primarily those engaged in national security and those that have police and enforcement powers,' said House Appropriation Committee chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Suansing. 'Posibleng bumaba, ma-retain, posibleng tumaas… makikita natin sa kurso ng mga deliberasyon natin,' Suansing added. — BM, GMA Integrated News
