Senate President Vicente Sotto III disclosed on Sunday that the Senate will restrict all amendments to the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to the second reading to prevent last-minute insertions.

In a radio interview, Sotto stressed a policy of “zero insertions,” stating that senators must submit or voice out their proposed changes only during the second reading floor debate.

“No insertions will be allowed during the third reading or in the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings,” Sotto said.

Sotto also revealed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would not certify the budget bill as urgent.

“During our Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting, Marcos said, ‘I will not certify any of your budget as urgent because the public might think we’re rushing it,’” Sotto said.

A key goal for the Senate is to remove and reallocate vast amounts of unprogrammed funds to the proper government agencies. Sotto and Senate finance committee chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian discussed the challenge of scrapping some allocations, particularly those tied to foreign-assisted projects.

Sotto cited items like the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) and Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients (MAIP), arguing they should be placed under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Health (DoH), respectively, instead of being lodged as unprogrammed funds.

“If they have unprogrammed funds for the AICS and MAIP, it should go to the rightful institutions like the DSWD and DoH. Why put it in the unprogrammed funds?” Sotto said.

“We will not just let this amount go to the unprogrammed funds,” he added.

To recall, the House of Representatives earlier this week approved its version of the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026. The House removed P35 billion for the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure Program from the unprogrammed fund but rejected a motion to scrap the entire P249 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.

Meantime, Sotto maintained his strong support for transparency in the final budget negotiations, welcoming the President’s earlier pronouncement that the bicameral conference committee hearings would be open to the public.