Latest news with #P6.793-trillion
GMA Network
a day ago
- Business
- GMA Network
Escudero wants LGUs' participation in budget hearings
Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero has recommended that governors and city mayors be invited to participate in the Senate's upcoming hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget. According to his office, Escudero made the suggestion to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on finance. 'Kung mga division heads ng maliliit na bureaus ay dumadalo sa budget hearings, bakit ang mga pinuno ng mga probinsya at malalaking lungsod ay hindi?' Escudero asked. (If division heads of small bureaus attend budget hearings, why don't the heads of provinces and big cities?) 'They have been sidelined for too long. It is now time to give them a seat at the table,' he added. The Senate leader emphasized that the feedback of local chief executives 'is too important to be ignored,' saying that they can even help 'vet and verify' whether the projects in the proposed budget truly respond to the needs of their constituents. 'The perspectives of leaders on the ground are invaluable in determining which projects are necessary and which are not. They can also help flag possible overpricing in the appropriations being requested,' Escudero said. 'One way to achieve this is by requiring the approval or endorsement of the respective Provincial Development Councils and the Regional Development Councils for all development projects so that, at the very least, each LGU will be informed and notified of the proposed programs and activities of the national government in the ensuing year,' he added. On August 13, the Department of Budget and Management turned over the copy of the P6.793-trillion 2026 National Expenditure Program to the Senate, which was personally received by Escudero. The same was also submitted to the House of Representatives. That same day, the Senate adopted in the plenary Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, which seeks to establish transparency and accountability in the passage of the national budget. –VBL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Civil society groups want more active role in budget process
The House of Representatives begins its scrutiny of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 on August 18, 2025. Photo: House of Representatives Civil society organizations (CSOs) are calling for a more active participation in the budget process. Last month House leaders said CSOs—defined by the UN as non-profit, voluntary citizens' groups organized on a local, national or international level, driven by people with a common interest, such as non-government organizations—would be allowed at the deliberations on the national budget, from the committee and plenary level to the bicameral conference committee, with one saying that their presence would not be "token participation." On Tuesday, CSOs stressed this point. "What we had po in mind was really genuine participation. Yung hindi lang po dekorasyon or hindi lang token, hindi lang observer kumbaga. Ang prinopose po talaga namin ay may role po ang civil societies na magbigay ng inputs, magbigay ng feedback doon sa budget process," People's Budget Coalition advisor Adolfo Jose Montesa said in an online interview. (What we had in mind was really genuine participation. Not just being there as decoration or as tokens, not just as observers. What we proposed is a role for civil societies to give input and feedback on the budget process.) "Gusto po sana namin ay posibleng maging resource persons sa mga committee hearings, posibleng mag-submit ng position papers, at makarinig ng feedback mula sa committee chairs, " Montesa added. (We would like to be resource persons at committee hearings, possibly submit position papers, and hear feedback from the committee chairs.) Social Watch Philippines agrees. "Yung sinasabi namin na magiging resource person, yun po ay during the budget deliberations sa committee level," the group's senior budget specialist Alice Quitalig said (When we say being resource persons, we mean during the budget deliberations at the committee level.) According to a memorandum circular issued by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, CSOs accredited to take part in the budget process are allowed to "observe budget deliberations both at the Committee and Plenary levels, access budget briefing documents/materials presented during the Committee and Plenary deliberations, submit written position papers or recommendations within specified deadlines, present consolidated sectoral positions during designated stages of the process." 'Opportunity to speak' CSOs were acknowledged at the opening of the budget deliberations at the session hall of the House of Representatives on Monday morning. But when the deliberations were transferred to the Romualdez Hall in the afternoon, Akbayan Party-list Representative Perci Cendaña noted their absence. The CSOs were allowed to enter afterwards. "Doon sa nakita natin na initial na implementation kahapon, bitin na bitin tayo in terms of genuine transparency and participation," he said in an online interview. "Ang mangyari, baka benchwarmer sila." (From what we saw in the initial implementation yesterday, we were left wanting in terms of genuine transparency and participation. They might end up just being benchwarmers.) Cendaña wants the current guidelines improved. "Dapat meron silang opportunity to speak during the budget process. Kasi doon sa current guidelines, lumalabas na parang sila ay magsa-submit lamang na kanilang mga position papers at wala ngang malinaw na proseso kung paano i-consider yung mga position papers na yan," he said. (They should be given the opportunity to speak during the budget process. In the current guidelines, it looks like they can only submit position papers and there is no clear process on how these papers will be considered.) Asking questions CSOs also want to be involved in the budget process at the bicameral conference committee level. "Ang panawagan namin diyan ay open bicameral conference committee. Ibig sabihin po, kami po ay maiimbitahan sa lahat ng sessions ng bicameral conference committee," Quitalig said. "Siyempre, kailangan meron din yang transcript ng meeting. And hopefully, kahit kami rin, gusto namin meron ding annotation ng legislators' amendment. Yun po yung transparency part," she added. (Our request is an open bicameral conference committee. What we mean is that we are also invited to all the sessions of the bicameral conference committee. And we must have a transcript of the meeting and annotations of the legislators' amendments. That would be the transparency part.) One workaround suggested by the CSOs is to request members of the House Committee on Appropriations to ask questions for them. "Well, pupuwede na habang hindi pa napaplantsa nang maayos itong proseso, ang pwedeng stopgap measure natin ay mag-yield kami bilang mga members of the House ng aming time para makapagtatanong yung mga civil society organizations o kaya naman padaanin sa amin yung kanilang mga tanong. So that is workable. Pero sa dulo, ang gusto natin ay institutional reform. Kasi pagka ganyan, parang depende na naman doon sa whims ng representative kung iyi-yield ba niya o hindi, na para bang utang na loob pa nila na binigay sa kanila yung oras," Cendaña said. (Well, while the process has still not been ironed out, a stopgap measure could be for us to yield our time so that the CSOs can ask questions, or ask the questions through us. That is workable. But in the end, wheat we want is institutional reform. Because if the CSOs have to depend on the whims of the representative on whether they would yield their time or not, it would come off as they would be owed a debt of gratitude for giving them the time.) People's review CSOs also want a longer period to conduct a People's Budget Review. Appropriations Committee Chair Mika Suansing of Nueva Ecija earlier said CSOs would be given one day for this. "We should organize, we will organize a People's Budget Review pero hindi lang dapat siya naka-encapsulate sa one day. Kasi ang daming concerns ng different sectors. Nandiyan yung health, education, environment, transportation. So baka magkulang ang isang araw. We need to allocate more time and space para discuss lahat ng issues na ito," Montesa said. (We should organize, we will organize a People's Budget Review, but it should not be encapsulated in just one day. There are so many concerns from different sectors: health, education, environment, transportation. One day might not be enough. We need to allocate more time and space to discuss all these issues.) "One day will not be enough. It has to be a constant presence. Yung civil society organizations have to be a constant presence in the whole budget process para tiyakin na transparent talaga ito [to ensure that this process is actually transparent]," Cendaña concurred. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
DBM: Education, health funding in proposed 2026 budget not ideal
The funding for education, social protection and health programs under the proposed P6.793-trillion budget for 2026 is not ideal, but there are no resources to increase them, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Monday. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman made the response when asked by House Deputy Minority Leader Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list as to why allocations to these crucial budget items remain insufficient based on international standards while the proposed flood control budget next year stands at P274 billion. 'The proposed 2026 budget allocates just around 3.5% of the GDP [gross domestic product] for education versus the 4% to 6% recommended by 2.2% percent for social protection versus the 5.1% of the GDP recommended by the International Labor Organization, and 1% for health as against the 5% percent GDP recommended by the World Health Organization. Bakit po paulit-ulit na parang ang pamumuhunan ng gobyerno natin para sa tao ay kulang?" Diokno said. (Why is that our investment in our people is always not enough?) 'Kulang tayo sa edukasyon, kulang tayo sa kalusugan, kulang tayo sa social protection kumpara sa pamantayan ng ibang mga bansa,' Diokno added. (We don't invest enough in education, health and social protection based on best practices.) Pangandaman responded that while all government agencies are aware of the ideal level of funding and proposed P10.1 trillion worth of budget items for 2026, the fact remains that the government cannot afford to fund them all. 'Hindi po natin kaya pondohan lahat po itong mga standards na ibinibigay ng mga international at development partners. I think if we will add 5 percent, 4 percent, 3 percent, 2 percent and 1 percent altogether, sosobra na po sa sa budget level po natin. Kasi kailangan po nating i-prioritize din po 'yung mga programang kailangan po natin pondohan,' Pangandaman said. (We cannot fund to the levels set by our international and development would go over budget, so we have to prioritize items that need funding.) 'At 'yan po ay nakapaloob sa Philippine Development Plan at saka sa mga roadmaps ng ating mga departamento. Sa susunod na taon po, ang mga prayoridad po natin, unang-una po ay education. Sinubukan po natin na at least kahit papaano matugunan iyong 4% [of GDP] na kinakailangan para po sa ating basic education at tertiary education. Sinubukan po talaga natin,' Pangandaman added. (We based our proposed budget on the Philippine Development Plan and roadmaps of different departments. Next year, our top priority is education so we tried to meet the 4% . We really tried.) The Budget chief also said that the budget for health, agriculture and social protection items were all increased from their 2025 allocation in accordance with the Philippine Development Plan and medium-term fiscal framework, alongside infrastructure spending which accounted for 5 to 6% of the GDP. Flooding funding for flood control projects? While there is not enough funding for health, education and social protection programs, Diokno then questioned why the proposed 2026 budget still earmarked P274 billion for flood control projects when no less than President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) and subsequent announcements that flood control projects are being used by unscrupulous individuals to pocket public funds. 'On the other hand, there's P270 billion for flood control projects despite the statements made by the President that a lot of these projects are essentially pork barrel. What accounts for this seeming disparity?' Diokno asked. Pangandaman said that the P274 billion was provided for by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 'The DPWH provided the figure based on their priority and the formula that they actually formulated when they prepared their budget proposal to the DBM,' she added. DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan has said that he will attend the Senate probe into the flood control projects. — BM, GMA Integrated News
Asia News Network
6 days ago
- Business
- Asia News Network
Palace defends Philippine President Marcos' P4.5-B secret funds despite watchdogs' criticisms
August 15, 2025 MANILA – Malacañang has defended the billions of pesos in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., despite calls from budget watchdogs to abolish these discretionary funds, especially for civilian agencies and offices, as these are prone to corruption. Under the proposed P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026 that was submitted on Wednesday to both houses of Congress, the Office of the President (OP) will be receiving the lion's share of the CIF. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the OP will get P4.5 billion in its CIF next year, which is almost half of the total P10.77 billion proposed budget for these secret funds. 'The president is the commander-in-chief and the chief architect of national security and foreign policy. The president needs these confidential and intelligence funds to do its mandate,' Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Thursday when asked why the OP needs a huge amount of CIF for the fourth consecutive year. 'We must remember: confidential funds are not bad if they are spent properly. Confidential funds only become bad when they are used by corrupt officials,' she added. OP's CIF was four times larger than that of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica), which the executive proposed to receive only P1.141 billion in CIF next year. Nica is the primary intelligence gathering and analysis arm of the government of the Philippines in charge of carrying out overt, covert, and clandestine intelligence activities. National Defense OP's proposal is also higher than the CIF given to the Department of National Defense, which was allotted P1.8 billion. Other executive offices, such as the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the National Security Council, and the Philippine National Police which will be sharing P2.292 billion among themselves. The Commission on Audit (COA) will receive P10 million, while the Office of the Ombudsman has a proposed P51 million CIF. According to a 2015 joint circular of the Department of Budget and Management and Commission on Audit, confidential expenses are those pertaining to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies. Meanwhile, intelligence expenses are those related to intel information-gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel that have direct impact on national security. Civil watchdogs have long criticized the opaque nature of CIFs, which are lump-sum allocations typically exempt from standard auditing procedures supposedly to safeguard national security and law enforcement. Former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno called for the abolishment of the CIF of the OP. 'The President does not need such a large amount for confidential and intelligence funds because the intelligence agencies are already under his authority,' she said. 'Instead of placing it under the Office of the President, increase the intelligence budget of the intelligence agencies and civilian agencies that have intelligence work,' added Magno, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines. It was during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte that CIF of the OP ballooned to P2.5 billion from 2017 to 2019, and swollen further to P4.5 billion in the succeeding years, including Marcos' first four years. `No moral ascendancy' 'Marcos has no moral ascendancy over Sara Duterte if he continues to request confidential funds despite the fact that these are merely being embezzled,' Magno said. She added that the Congress which is teeming with allies of the President also 'has no moral ascendancy over Sara Duterte if it continues to grant confidential funds to the President.' Castro, however, retorted by saying that President Marcos was not using the same questionable tricks of Vice President Sara Duterte. 'Let us remember that if the reporting is done correctly and the CIF are used properly, this will not be questionable,' the Palace official said. 'The comparison only arises when the reporting is not done properly and certificates or various receipts are used just to claim that the confidential funds were spent—that is the difference,' she added. The Office of the Vice President (OVP) under Sara Duterte has not requested CIF for the second consecutive year since she was accused of misusing P612.5 million during her concurrent tenure as vice president and education secretary from 2022 to 2024. An inquiry conducted by the House committee on good government during the 19th Congress found, among others, that the OVP disbursed confidential funds to beneficiaries with suspicious-sounding names like 'Mary Grace Piattos (combining the names of a restaurant and a potato chip brand),' 'Marian Rivera (an actress),' and 'Chel Diokno (a human rights lawyer and opposition figure).' The panel's findings partly served as the basis of the articles of impeachment endorsed by 215 House lawmakers against her in February, but which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in July for supposedly violating the one-year bar rule.
GMA Network
7 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
2nd San Juanico bridge project gets P10B under 2026 NEP
The 2nd San Juanico bridge project in Tacloban City has been allocated P10 billion under the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program for 2026. The said project was included in the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) over P881.3-billion allocation for next year. The expenditure program for 2026 recently submitted by Malacanang to Congress showed that the second San Juanico bridge project is a Japan International Cooperation Agency-assisted project. DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan earlier said the government plans to build a new bridge adjacent to the existing San Juanico Bridge, which would be about 2.6 kilometers long. A flagship project of the Marcos administration, Bonoan hoped that the detailed engineering design would be completed by 2026 and the construction would follow immediately. A three-ton load limit had been imposed on the San Juanico Bridge since May this year after an assessment showed significant structural compromises to the bridge. The President had said more than P500 million has already been allocated for the San Juanico Bridge's repair. DPWH said it is expediting the repairs to increase its load limit to 12 - 15 tons by December this year. Built in 1969 and completed in 1973, the San Juanico Bridge is the third-longest bridge spanning a body of seawater in the Philippines, connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte. —LDF, GMA Integrated News
