Rodante Marcoleta on Monday, 29 December, voted “no” on the 2026 national budget, citing audit findings, troubling fiscal patterns, and policy distortions surrounding financial assistance programs.

“I voted in favor of the Senate Committee Report. I supported our Senate version because it reflected hours of rigorous scrutiny during committee hearings and plenary debates, where we collectively tried to correct the mistakes of the past—particularly those that plagued the 2025 budget and the corrupt and rotten system that gave birth to, and proceeded from it,” Marcoleta said.

He cited Commission on Audit findings flagging deficiencies in the implementation of assistance programs such as Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), including undocumented disbursements, weak beneficiary validation, duplication of aid, and the non-implementation of audit recommendations.

“The same pattern emerges in the restoration of unprogrammed appropriations. After initial assurances that these standby funds would be scaled back, the bicameral committee reversed its course and restored unprogrammed appropriations to P243.4 billion, even higher than the House-approved level and far above the Senate’s reduced version of P174.55 billion. This is recklessness,” Marcoleta stressed.

The senator said decades of pouring billions into short-term assistance have failed to lift Filipinos out of poverty, citing Social Weather Stations data showing rising self-rated poverty and hunger.

Marcoleta called for a shift toward long-term, empowering interventions such as food security, livelihoods, education, and health care reforms.

“With a heavy heart, I cast my ‘no’ vote,” Marcoleta said.

“I stand by my conviction to prevent possible abuses of the budget. Safeguards on paper are not always enough. We must learn from the mistakes of the past and ensure public funds truly serve the people,” he added.

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

The ratified version of the 2026 GAB will then be sent to Malacañang for Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signature.