President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expects there will be no “useless” congressional insertions in the proposed 2026 national budget. Speaking to reporters, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Chief Executive would not hesitate to veto the proposed budget if there are es that do not conform to the administration’s priorities.
Castro said the National Expenditure Program (NEP) was carefully prepared and crafted by Marcos and his Cabinet. She stressed that the so called “power of the purse should not be abused and there should be no illegitimate sertions that will not be truly useful. That is all the President wants.”
The Palace press officer said Marcos is open to making bicameral budget deliberations open to the public to ensure that the spending plan is “clean.”
Asked if Marcos would veto a budget with anomalous insertions made during the budget deliberations, Castro said it would depend on the changes. If the insertions can be said to be meaningful, they probably won’t be vetoed, but if they are useless and could only lead to abuse, the President will not hesitate to veto them.”
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Tuesday warned of possible delays in the implementation of programs, activities and projects (PAPs), if there would be changes in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), also known as the President’s budget.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Marcos said he would veto the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) if it is not aligned with the NEP, the national government’s spending plan for the next fiscal year and serves as the basis of Congress in crafting the GAB, which then becomes the General Appropriations Act once signed into law by the President.
Marcos, on July 15, approved the proposed PHP6.793-trillion budget for 2026, the country’s highest to date, which is expected to support key programs in education, infrastructure, digitalization, health, and social services. (With PNA)