Hiring of new personnel won't be affected by Marcos veto, says DBM

January 13, 2026 | 6:09pm

MANILA, Philippines — Several of the items vetoed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised concern among lawmakers, including the payment to personnel services, as well as programs meant to pay tax breaks for large companies—so what happens to them now?

One of the major points of contention raised by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio was the vetoed “Payment of Personnel Services Requirements” item, which was meant to be for government employees.

While the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already clarified that the salary and benefits of government employees will not be affected by the veto, Tinio raised that it could impact the possible hiring of incoming government workers.

DBM Acting Secretary Rolando Toledo said that while Marcos vetoed the payment for personnel services, it will not affect the payment for personnel who will be onboarded in 2026.

“It is in the MPBF, or the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Fund. It will not be affected, whether they are regular or they are employees just about to be hired,” Toledo said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Marcos also vetoed the “Fiscal support to Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS)” and the “Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) program,” raising concerns over the beneficiaries of the projects.

Senate Finance Chair Win Gatchalian later raised that the CARS and RACE programs were there to encourage foreign investment by providing tax breaks to car manufacturers.

This has led to the government owing money to car manufacturers Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Toledo said that they will meet with the Department of Trade and Industry to look into the matter.

All of the items that Marcos vetoed have been located in the unprogrammed appropriations (UA), the portion of the budget that had drawn controversy due to the lack of transparency over the release of its funds.

Under Marcos, the UA has drastically ballooned, with the highest under Marcos being P807 billion in the 2023 budget. The UA has largely been reduced since then, numbering only P150.9 billion in the 2026 budget after much controversy.

Toledo said that the DBM is studying the possibility of putting a cap on the UA, but maintained that these funds were legal.

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