Legarda backs 2026 budget but flags lapses in health fund remittances

Senator Loren Legarda on Monday, 29 December, affirmed her support for the ratification of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), highlighting its role in strengthening human capital while raising reservations on the national government’s lapses in mandated health revenues.

Legarda explained that her reservations arose from the National Government’s continued failure to remit PhilHealth’s actual legally mandated sin tax revenues from 2023 onward and statutory shares from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation since 2019.

She added that this undermines the Universal Health Care Act and delays the transition to an institutionally guaranteed zero out-of-pocket care framework in public health facilities.

The senator emphasized that the enactment of the 2026 GAA must be followed by strict monitoring of health programs and projects to ensure accountability and measurable outcomes.

“Our shared responsibility does not end with the enactment of the 2026 GAA. We must continue to closely monitor and evaluate the implementation of health programs by the Department of Health, as well as projects across all implementing agencies, to ensure that approved appropriations translate into measurable outcomes and full value for public investment,” Legarda stressed.

Despite her reservations, Legarda further reaffirmed her support for the Bicameral Conference Committee Report, noting its vision of placing human development at the center of national growth.

“It seeks to strengthen human capital through sustained investments in health, education, agriculture, and other sectors that directly affect productivity and quality of life. It positions human development as a central driver of economic growth, rather than a secondary objective,” she said.

"This signing is not just a formality, but rather it is an affirmation that every peso allocated has a clear purpose and must deliver real, measurable, and concrete benefits to every Filipino family," she added.

On Monday, the Senate ratified the Bicameral Conference Committee report on the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) that proposes a P6.793-trillion national budget for next year.

The ratified version of the 2026 GAB will then be sent to Malacañang for President Ferdinand R. Marcos' signature.