Budget panel chair to confer with House members on AKAP fate
According to Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, AKAP had been quite helpful for the constituents of House members.
'I would have to confer with my colleagues in the House because this would have to be a collective decision, whether or not to add funding for AKAP for this budget cycle,' Suansing told reporters.
'Personally, in recent years, nakita ko 'yung naitulong ng AKAP sa aming mga constituencies, or sectors that were previously untapped by AICS,' she added, referring to the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman earlier said that AKAP was not included in the proposed P6.7 trillion budget for 2026. She said there were still undisbursed AKAP allocations under the 2025 budget.
'So we see the value in AKAP. So that's why, as I said, I would need to confer with my colleagues in the House because I would need to know the disposition of the whole House with regard to AKAP,' Suansing said.
Suansing said that the House of Representatives, as part of a bicameral Congress alongside the Senate, had the authority to introduce amendments to the proposed budget, provided that they are in line with the administration's priority programs.
'The agencies have the right to express their views that these are our priority programs. Please make sure these are funded. We welcome the suggestions or the thoughts of our partners in the Executive with regard to which programs and projects they want funded," Suansing said.
"And given that Congress has the power of the purse, we actually actually have that ability to look into every single line item in the National Expenditure program [as proposed by the President] and the General Appropriations Bill [to be approved by Congress], as well as move around the funding [to other budget items] accordingly,' she added.
'But again, the House will follow the call of President [Ferdinand] Bongbong Marcos [Jr.] in making sure that the programs and the projects that we will fund for fiscal year 2026 are aligned with the priorities of the administration,' Suansing said. –NB, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- GMA Network
Ombudsman's proposed budget for 2026 pegged at P6.39B
The Office of the Ombudsman will get P6.39 billion in 2026 under the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacanang to Congress. The proposed budget is higher than the P5.87 billion budget of the anti-graft court this year. Of the P6.39 billion, P3.67 billion will go to Personnel Services; P2.20 billion will go to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE); and P515.3 million will account for the Capital Outlay. The Ombudsman's proposed budget for 2026 also includes P51.47 million worth of confidential funds, the same amount of confidential funds it got this year. Other items under the Ombudsman's proposed budget include: -P816.9 million for the conduct of fact-finding investigation and lifestyle check for case build-up against erring public officials -P445.8 million for prosecution of criminal and forfeiture cases filed against erring public officials with the Sandiganbayan and Regional Trial Courts -P164.8 million for adjudication on administrative cases against erring public officials to enforce anti-corruption laws -P149.2 million for delivery of responsive and meaningful public assistance to address red tape in the bureaucracy -P106 million for Operation and Maintenance of Computerized Management Information System -P99 million for Aral and Asal Project under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the University of the Philippines System (UPS) -P58.5 million for the conduct of integrity assessments and corruption diagnostics to reduce the vulnerability of government agencies to corruption, inefficiency, and red tape -P53.3 million for Preliminary investigation of criminal and forfeiture cases against erring public officials -P44.3 million for the development and implementation of integrity promotion programs to generate a critical mass of anti-corruption advocacy -P20.3 million for advocacy of Ombudsman cases appealed to the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, including the filing of special civil actions with the Supreme Court, among others The Whistleblowers Reward, however, is just pegged at P10 million. Under the Ombudsman law, the Ombudsman and its Deputies, shall serve as protectors of the people, 'should act promptly on complaints filed in any form or manner against officers or employees of the government, or of any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, and enforce their administrative, civil and criminal liability in every case where the evidence warrants in order to promote efficient service by the government to the people.' The Ombudsman was headed by former Supreme Court justice Samuel Martires from August 2018 to July 2025. Since Martires' seven-year term expired last month, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has appointed Special Prosecutor and former Court of Appeals presiding justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo as acting Ombudsman. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 hours ago
- GMA Network
Senate's proposed 2026 budget slashed by nearly half at P7.5 billion
The Senate has a proposed budget of P7.5 billion for next year under the National Expenditure Program (NEP)—a far cry from its P13.9-billion budget for 2025. Based on the 2026 NEP submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the upper chamber initially proposed a P9.67-billion budget for 2025, but it was reduced to P7.52 billion upon final recommendation. The Senate received a P13.93-billion budget under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA). The upper chamber's proposed 2026 budget was almost equally divided for its maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and personnel services, amounting to P3.77 billion and P3.74 billion, respectively. No budget was allocated for the Senate's confidential, intelligence, and extraordinary expenses as in previous years. There was also zero allocation for its capital outlays on the 2026 NEP. The DBM on Wednesday afternoon turned over the copy of the P6.793-trillion 2026 NEP to the Senate, which was personally received by Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero. On the same day, the Senate adopted in the plenary Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, subject to style, which seeks to establish transparency and accountability in the passage of the national budget. The concurrent resolution mandates that budget documents such as the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), Bicameral Conference Committee Report, and transcripts of bicam meetings be uploaded on both the websites of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It also provides that both Houses of Congress ensure that all budget deliberations, including budget briefings, public hearings, plenary discussions, and bicameral conference committee meetings be accessible to the public via digital live streaming. The public will likewise be given a platform on the websites to communicate their analyses, suggestions, and feedback on the national budget. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
6 hours ago
- GMA Network
Garin says there's clamor among House members for AKAP
"Kapag walang bahay ay hindi talaga puwedeng mapondohan ng Kongreso. Dahil walang bahay ang AKAP, mahirap siyang mapondohan. Pero andoon pa rin yung hinaing ng mga kongresista na baka sa 2027, maibalik ito or ma-expand ngayon yung coverage ng AICS," Garin said in an interview. Without an allocation in the National Expenditure Program for 2026, there might be no way to fund the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), or the government's assistance program for minimum-wage earners, Deputy Speaker Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said on Friday. Garin, however, said there was a clamor among members of the House of Representatives for its revival in the 2027 national budget or to expand the coverage of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in 2026. "Kapag walang bahay ay hindi talaga puwedeng mapondohan ng Kongreso. Dahil walang bahay ang AKAP, mahirap siyang mapondohan. Pero andoon pa rin yung hinaing ng mga kongresista na baka sa 2027, maibalik ito or ma-expand ngayon yung coverage ng AICS," Garin said in an interview. "Talagang nakakapanghinayang yung isang programa na na-demonize," she added, referring to how criticisms that AKAP had been used for political patronage. (If there's no allocation for AKAP, Congress can't fund it. Without an allocation, it will be difficult to set aside funds for it. However, there is a call among House members to include it in 2027, or expand the coverage of AICS.) Garin said the House of Representatives respected the decision of the Department of Budget and Management not to allot funds to AKAP for 2026. "Nirerespeto natin ang DBM dito. Andoon lang yung paghinaing ng ibang kongresista na sayang kasi yung niche of population, yung near-poor na dapat tinutulungan natin," Garin said. (We respect the DBM. There's just the sentiment of congressmen that we'd miss serving a niche of the population, the near-poor, that we should help.) Poverty alleviation Akbayan Party-list Rep Perci Cendaña supported the decision of the Department of Budget and Management not to include funding for AKAP in the 2026 proposed budget. "Maraming mahihirap na kababayan natin ang nangangailangan ng salbabida lalo na't nalulunod sila sa napakataas ng presyo ng bilihin at hindi pa natin naipapapasa ang P200 wage hike," Cendaña told GMA Integrated News. "Sa ganang akin, mas kailangan pondohan ang mga poverty alleviation programs tulad ng 4Ps na mas programmatic at holistic, may konkretong targets, at may malinaw na patutunguhan–ang pagraduate mula sa kahirapan," he added. House Committee on Public Accounts Chair Rep Terry Ridon sees the value of AKAP. "Ito po ang AKAP ay para po doon sa mga talaga hong mababa ang sahod na mga kababayan po natin. Sinusuportahan po natin, sa totoo lang, yun pong AKAP nitong nagdangpanon and I'm not quite certain on what congress will do whether they will restore acup for next year," Ridon said. "Pero very important po yung prinsipyo na kailangan ho natin tulungan, hindi lang po yung mga pinakamahirap po nating mga kababayan, kundi kasama pa rin po dapat dito yun pong mga near-poor natin mga kababayan," he added. He said he will leave it to the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations to decide whether to provide funding for AKAP next year or not. Ridon said that when the Department of Social Welfare and Development defends its budget, it reports to the House of Representatives if the objectives of AKAP were met in the past two years.
