Rappler
House passes 2026 budget, clash with Senate on P249 billion unprogrammed funds likely
The House of Representatives passed the proposed P6.793-trillion budget for 2026 on final reading, retaining P249 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
A total of 287 lawmakers voted to approve the budget, with 12 negative votes and two abstentions.
Akbayan Representative Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno's motion to zero out the unprogrammed funds was rejected.
House appropriations chairperson Mikaela Angela B. Suansing stated that these funds are necessary for foreign-assisted projects lacking final contracts or NEDA Board approval and to fulfill international commitments.
Suansing also mentioned that the committee removed P35 billion worth of infrastructure projects from the SIPAG Program, which had been flagged by critics.
The retention of unprogrammed funds is expected to lead to a clash with the Senate, which has indicated it would remove such funds.
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The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading its version of the proposed P6.79-trillion national budget for 2026, the largest in the country's history, with 287 lawmakers voting in favor.
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Opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives have joined Senate President Vicente Sotto III in calling for the removal of unprogrammed funds from the proposed P 6.793 trillion national budget for 2026 to prevent the abuse of public funds.
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Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno is pushing for the removal of Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) from the 2026 national budget, viewing it as a "parallel budget system" for discretionary spending.
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A House subcommittee has significantly reduced unprogrammed funds in the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026.
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Senator Sherwin Gatchalian supports retaining the proposed P902.8 million budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2026.
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