Palace optimistic Congress can deliver ‘clean’ national budget on time

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter

MALACAÑANG said President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is still confident Congress can deliver a “clean” 2026 national budget in time, following recommendations that a reenacted budget may be necessary.

“Senator Ping Lacson’s suggestion is good, but the President’s clear preference is to avoid having a reenacted budget,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told a news briefing in Filipino on Wednesday.

“It is still December — only Dec. 17 — and the President believes there is still enough time to study the budget thoroughly.”

Ms. Castro maintained the President is opposed to the use of a reenacted budget in early 2026, which Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, Sr. suggested amid questions over P5 billion worth of farm-to-market projects.

This is on top of an impasse over the P45-billion cut to the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) budget, with senators firm on keeping the billions of pesos it cut, while congressmen warned that failing to restore funding could lead to economic losses.

This has prompted the bicameral conference committee to cancel deliberations of the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 on Monday. It resumed late on Tuesday, tackling other agencies, while it tabled talks on the DPWH budget.

“My position is — better a reenacted budget in January or even in the entire first quarter of 2026 than an unchecked, corruption-conducive and worse, graft-ridden GAA (General Appropriations Act),” he said, according to a statement on Tuesday.

“Most of my colleagues, at least in the majority bloc share the same sentiment.”

Lawmakers are racing to reconcile its budget differences before the Dec. 22 deadline, in time for the President’s signing before the yearend.

Failure to do so would force the government to operate under a reenacted budget, which would mirror the previous year’s spending plan and limit funding for new programs and projects.

Hansley A. Juliano, political science lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University, cautioned that a blanket approach could stall key initiatives.

While a reenacted budget could safeguard taxpayer funds, Mr. Juliano said it also “risks cutting the legs off” of ongoing projects.

He recommended limiting any reenacted budget exclusively to the Public Works department’s allocations and ensuring unconstitutional provisions remain severable.

“Considering we are just dealing with the credibility of DPWH projects, it would not be fair to implicate all other government offices who have established credibility,” Mr. Juliano said via Facebook Messenger.

“If there is a budget to be reenacted, limit it only to the part of the DPWH. Severability of unconstitutional parts of the law should still be considered for this highlighting the need to balance fiscal prudence with continuity in public works projects.”