Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Monday said the upper chamber will act only on a “clear and near-final enrolled copy” of the P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026 to avoid what he described as “blind ratification.”

In an ambush interview shortly before the plenary session, Sotto said ratification was moved to December 29, stressing that he and several members of the majority want full clarity on the final contents of the bill before approving it.

“While I’m Senate President, gusto ko malinaw (I want it clear),” Sotto said, adding that the Senate wants to ratify an almost-enrolled or fully enrolled copy of the budget that can be transmitted directly to Malacañang without risk of insertions.

Sotto likewise explained that while ratification could technically be done earlier, he personally objected to approving a summary version of the bill. 

“Ayoko ng summary, ayoko ng blind ratification katulad ng nangyari last year (I don’t want a summary, I don’t want a blind ratification like what happened last year),” he said, noting that most majority members support this position.

Asked whether the President could still sign the budget on 30 or 31 December, Sotto said it remains possible but unlikely, depending on how far Malacañang’s review has progressed.

“If they have started reviewing it from now, up to the time, there’s a possibility. But, I doubt it, perhaps, somewhere like, sometime like, first week of January would be ideal that they have reviewed it,” he explained. 

He added that a brief reenactment of the budget would not pose a problem. 

“A few days or a week or so, walang problema ’yun (it’s not a problem),” Sotto said, recalling that a previous reenacted budget lasted several months.

Further, Sotto said there were no direct discussions between the Senate leadership and the Office of the President regarding advance review of the budget, aside from coordination involving the finance committee chair and Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.

“Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, si Senator Gatchalian ang kausap ni ES Ralph tungkol sa schedule (If I’m not mistaken, it was Senator Gatchalian who talked with ES Ralph about the schedule),” he pointed out. 

Moreover, the Senate President said a quorum is expected during the 29 December plenary session, even if some senators travel abroad for the holidays.

“Some of them would be out of the country, but we will be having more than 13 members of the Senate on the 29th,” he said, adding that those who answered the roll call earlier this month are expected to be present during the session. 

Extended plenary sessions

The Senate has again extended its session until 29 December to allow time for the ratification of the proposed  2026 national budget.

On the motion of Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, the chamber amended its legislative calendar, moving the resumption of session from 22 December to 29 December 2025. 

The adjournment of the session was likewise reset from 23 December to 30 December 2025.

Zubiri said the extension would provide “additional time” to complete the preparation and ratification of the bicameral conference committee report on the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

The 20th Congress was originally scheduled to adjourn on 20 December, but the date was successively moved to 23 December and then to 30 December due to delays in the budget process. The Bicameral deliberations were hampered by several issues, including cuts to the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The bicameral committee report was approved only on 18 December. 

Senate leaders had earlier said at least a week would be needed to finalize the enrolled bill before ratifying it and transmitting it to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his signature.