Bicam clears P6.7-T 2026 budget

The Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) wrapped up its marathon deliberations on the proposed P6.7-trillion 2026 national budget, easing concerns over a possible reenacted budget.

A reenacted budget would mean the previous year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA) would remain in effect until both chambers of Congress — the House and the Senate — pass the current General Appropriations Bill (GAB). 

This may result in an economic slowdown and hinder the delivery of government services as new programs and projects will lack funding. 

After a grueling four-day debate on the 2026 GAB, the bicameral committee — comprising selected members of the House and Senate — raced against time to finalize their deliberations following Malacañang’s warning that it would not support a reenacted budget.

Efforts to approve the committee report before Christmas, however, fell short as the Bicam members clashed over key budget provisions, including allocations for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), medical services, and social aid, pushing the bill’s ratification from the original 22 to 29 December.

The final day of deliberations wrapped up at exactly 2:22 a.m. Thursday after a 10-hour session.

Bicam chairs Senator Win Gatchalian and Rep. Mikaela Suansing expressed confidence that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the enrolled bill, saying that a veto — like the one seen in this year’s budget — is highly unlikely.

Flood control no more

“I’m confident that nothing will be vetoed, very confident,” Gatchalian told reporters. “[A]ll the safeguards are included in this budget. So there will be no recurrence of flood control, ghost, and substandard projects.”

Suansing assured that no line items were removed or added without proper coordination.

She said the timeline was carefully crafted to give the President and his economic team ample time to thoroughly review the budget before the GAB is signed into law by the end of the year.

“We just want to give the assurance that the executive has enough time to review it,” Suansing said.

This year’s budget, derided by critics as the “most corrupt” budget in Philippine history, was initially set at P6.352 trillion. 

It was reduced, however, to P6.326 trillion after President Marcos vetoed P194 billion in line items considered inconsistent with his administration’s priority programs, including P16.7 billion earmarked for flood control projects.

The budget cut was reportedly triggered by “budget insertions,” largely linked to the bicameral committee that approved the final version of the bill before sending it to the President for his signature.

The House and Senate members of this year’s bicameral committee were deadlocked over whether or not to approve further cuts to the already reduced DPWH budget, amid the controversy surrounding the anomalous flood control projects.

According to Suansing, the Bicam reached a consensus to cut P90 billion from the DPWH’s budget that the House approved.

“So we’re roughly at P570 billion for DPWH. That’s a substantial decrease. Almost a P300-billion decrease from the original level of P881 billion in the NEP (National Expenditure Program),” she told reporters.

To recall, the DPWH’s 2026 allocation was originally P881.3 billion, but the House cut P255 billion from locally funded flood control projects and redirected the funds to programs in education, health, and agriculture, leaving the department with P625.7 billion. 

The Senate, however, further trimmed this to P568 billion under its version of the GAB.