Senate approves P6.79-T 2026 budget on second reading

The Senate on Thursday approved on second reading House Bill No. 4068, the P6.793-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Bill, under the leadership of Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri moved to close the period of amendments, paving the way for the chamber’s approval of the proposed 2026 national budget on second reading.

Only Senators Joel Villanueva and Alan Peter Cayetano opposed the passage of the proposed bill, citing reasons that the budget does not promote development in the countryside.

Senate Finance Committee chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian earlier in the day submitted the general summary of House Bill No. 4058, and it was accepted by Senate lawmakers.

“The Bills and Index Service has distributed an electronic copy of the general summary of House Bill No. 4058 as amended via email to the offices of the senators. With the consent of the body, I move that the general summary be accepted as the amendment to House Bill No. 4058 and, accordingly, that we close the period of amendment on the measure using the said general summary as our basis,” Gatchalian said.

He said the majority of the senators’ requested amendments were approved, though not all, as some requests came from government agencies.

“I would say the 2026 GAB is clean, meaning it was detailed and validated,” he said.

Gatchalian said the complete details, including line-by-line amendments and all pertinent attachments, will be made available on Saturday, 6 December, before the approval on third reading of the fiscal year 2026 GAB.

The Senate has set deliberations for the third and final reading on 9 December.

Both Houses of Congress aim to ratify the 2026 national budget by 17 December and submit it to the Office of the President on the 29th of this month.