Malacañang Palace hopes that the Senate of the Philippines will be able to pass the national budget before the end of the year.
Earlier, Senator Win Gatchalian, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, expressed that the budget may not pass the upper chamber on time and might lead to a reenactment of the 2025 national budget.
“As much as possible, it should be expedited. I hope we don't run out of time because Senate President Tito Sotto said it can be done. Maybe let's just pray that it will be expedited. Hopefully, there won't be any more delays. That's all we pray for,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a radio interview.
Castro added that even if pressed for time, the President will scrutinize the bicameral conference report on the General Appropriations Bill before signing the national budget into law.
Meanwhile, Malacañang also addressed the 2025 budget being called the most corrupt budget.
Castro said Marcos directed the Department of Budget and Management to implement a conditional release on proposed projects.
“Because there were questionable things, there were many doubts about this budget. So when it was passed, the President's DBM statement was already there — conditional implementation. You can't just release a budget without approval and without justification,” she explained.
With this, proposed projects need documentation support and feasibility studies before the DBM can approve the release of funds.
The P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 is targeted to be enacted into law before January next year, with a tentative schedule of 29 December.