With the enactment of the closely scrutinized 2026 budget on Monday, the House of Representatives pledged to exercise “stricter” oversight powers or rigorous monitoring to ensure that public funds are spent efficiently by government institutions, warning of a “zero tolerance for corruption.” 

Speaker Bojie Dy issued the warning as the P6.793 trillion national budget took effect following President Marcos Jr.’s signature of the Republic Act 12314 or the 2026 General Appropriations Act after a week-long review. 

“There will be zero tolerance for corruption. No leakages, no shortcuts, and no excuses. Public funds should be used for the benefit of the people,” Dy said. “Congress will make sure every peso is spent exactly as approved.” 

Several leaders of Congress, including Dy, were present at Malacañang during the signing ceremony, where Marcos vetoed P92.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations. 

The vetoed amount represents about 62 percent of the initial funding for the UA, derided as “new face of pork,” totalling P243 billion, making it “the lowest since 2019,” Marcos claimed. 

Despite several reforms in the budget-making process for this year, watchdogs and critics still raised concerns about the 2026 GAA’s weak safeguards, leaving the public anew at the receiving end of possible corruption. 

Allaying fears, Dy said that the House—under his watch—will never renege on its promise to keep the budget free of any form of fraud, and that anyone who dares to hoodwink the government and embezzle public funds will be held to account.

The Speaker assured that the chamber will continue its anti-corruption efforts to ensure that government resources are safeguarded from misuse and utilized lawfully and solely for the public’s benefit.

He emphasized that the House had already started it through reforms in the latest budgetary process, which he claimed were “never before implemented.” This includes, for the first time in history, giving public access to the bicameral conference committee deliberations through livestreaming. 

Bicam deliberations were traditionally held behind closed doors, which critics derided as the stage in the budget process where dubious insertions found their way into the national budget, most notoriously in 2025, when lawmakers and the President himself were alleged to have received billions of pesos in kickbacks, including from flood control projects. 

Several members of the House and the Senate, Cabinet secretaries, and DPWH officials have been implicated in anomalies in flood control projects, the biggest scandal to rock the government post-EDSA.

The House is aiming to intensify its congressional oversight as part of its alleged effort to prevent the recurrence of massive corruption amid public distrust in government, primarily in the institution itself.

As a result, the 2026 spending plan, or the so-called “people-centered budget,” earmarked the lion’s share for the education sector with P1.34 trillion or 4.36 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, the highest allocation given to the sector in history. 

This marks the first time the country has breached the 4 percent international benchmark for education spending, according to Dy. 

The health sector will also receive a much-needed boost this year, with a total of P448.12 billion in funding to expand PhilHealth benefits and fully support zero-balance billing for indigent patients in government hospitals. 

Dy owed that Congress will work closely with the executive to ensure the effective and timely implementation of the budget, while firmly exercising its oversight powers.