Palace: 2026 budget in final stages of review

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January 4, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration is in the final stage of its review of this year’s Congress-ratified P6.793-trillion national budget, which is scheduled to be signed into law tomorrow.

President Marcos and his Cabinet were still studying the budget bill passed by Congress as of yesterday afternoon.

The review, described by Malacañang as “deliberate” and “thorough,” is expected to be completed this weekend, according to Budget Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran.

“Yes. The review is already on its final stages,” Libiran told The STAR in a text message yesterday.

With the signing of the budget expected only by tomorrow as announced by Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez, the government will operate under a reenacted 2025 outlay for nearly a week.

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto had said that a week-long reenactment of the 2025 budget would not affect government operations.

Section 25 (7), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution states the government will have to operate under a reenacted budget if it fails to enact before the end of fiscal year a budget program for the following year.

Although Congress ratified the 2026 budget bill last Dec. 29, the executive branch had deemed it needed about a week to examine the spending bill.

This was the first time the Marcos administration had to reenact its budget.

The last time the government operated under a reenacted outlay was in 2019 under then president Rodrigo Duterte. That year, the national budget was enacted only in April.

The government had full year reenacted budgets in 2001, 2004 and 2006 and partial reenacted outlays in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009. Congress tackled the 2026 budget bill in the midst of the flood control controversy.

Marcos ordered an investigation on anomalies in flood control projects involving several officials and contractors. Officials have vowed to keep the 2026 budget insulated from corruption.

“We will ensure that the 2026 GAA (General Appropriations Act) will satisfy not only the legal and technical requirements but, more importantly, the needs of the Filipino people,” Recto said in an earlier statement.

Recto had said that Marcos and his team were scrutinizing all allocations and provisions to fully account for any changes from the National Expenditure Program (NEP), the budget submitted by the executive branch to Congress.

Although a reenacted budget is seen to disrupt the rollout of key state projects and slow economic growth, Marcos had said he would prefer a reenacted outlay over one that is not in line with his administration’s priorities.

“For the 2026 national budget, I will return any proposed general appropriations bill that is not fully aligned with the National Expenditure Program,” the President said during his fourth State of the Nation Address. “And further, I am willing to do this even if we end up with a reenacted budget.”