Senate Pres. Tito Sotto Speaks on Complaint Filed before SC over Unprogrammed Funds in 2026 Budget
SOTTO
– The Senate President confirmed that the Senate is ready to defend the unprogrammed funds in the 2026 national budget.
Last January 5, President Ferdinand
Marcos Jr. signed the 2026 national budget
submitted by the bicameral conference committee. The bicam-approved budget proposal amounted to P6.79 trillion.
The ceremonial signing held at Malacañang Palace came after the country operated on a reenacted budget in the first week of January. Malacañang Palace previously claimed that the President spent a working Christmas holiday reviewing the bicam-approved fund.
Under the 2026 national budget, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) gets the second biggest budget among the key departments in the government despite the huge cut. Public works chief Vince Dizon previously confirmed that the department’s budget is down by over P300 billion.
Photo Courtesy of Inquirer
Here are the 2026 budget for the different key departments in the government:
Department of Education — P1.015 trillion
Department of Public Works and Highways — P530.9 billion
Department of Health — P448.1 billion
Department of the Interior and Local Government — P310.5 billion
Department of National Defense — P310.0 billion
Department of Agriculture — P297.1 billion
Department of Social Welfare and Development — P270.2 billion
Department of Transportation — P141.0 billion
Department of Labor and Employment — P73.6 billion
Judiciary — P70.6 billion
Budgetary Support for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations: P6.895 billion
Insurance of Government Assets and Interests: P2 billion
Payment of Personnel Services Requirements: P43.245 billion
CARS Program (Automotive Industry Support): P4.32 billion
RACE Program (Automotive Industry Competitiveness): P250 million
Government Counterpart for Certain Foreign-Assisted Projects: P35.77 billion
The Marcos Jr. administration is confident over the approved 2026 national budget. However,
Mamamayang Liberal
Partylist Representative
Leila de Lima and House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Edgar Erice filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the unprogrammed appropriations under the 2026 budget
. Senate Pres. Tito Sotto spoke about the complaint.
Based on a
report
on PhilStar, Senate Pres. Tito Sotto confirmed that the Senate is ready to defend the unprogrammed funds in the 2026 national budget. He stressed that unprogrammed appropriations are legal.
“I’m very confident the SC will uphold the budget and favor it. Unprogrammed funds are constitutionally valid based on SC decisions,”
Sotto said.
Photo Courtesy of GMA Network
Ralph Recto spoke on the 2026 national budget