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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
December 9, 2025 | 6:43pm
This file photo shows the Senate building in Pasay City.
Official Gazette, file
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate on Tuesday, December 9, passed on the third and final reading their version of the general appropriations bill for 2026, but they were only partially successful in removing unprogrammed funds from the 2026 budget—trimming it down from P243.22 billion to P174.55 billion.
With 17 voting in the affirmative and no negative votes or abstentions, the P6.793-trillion budget is one step closer to passing despite the heavy scrutiny it faces. The administration is currently in the midst of a massive corruption scandal, with many calling for a thorough review of the budget.
One of the points of contention is the unprogrammed funds: the standby budget that has been dubbed by many as “pork.”
While Senate President Tito Sotto was determined to remove the unprogrammed allocations, a total of P174.55 billion still remained. This is a P68.66 billion reduction from the House’s version of the 2026 budget.
Reductions from the House budget
The Department of Public Works and Highways, having been ground zero for a massive corruption scheme, had its budget reduced by a whopping P53.99 billion, going from P624.48 billion in the House-approved budget down to P570.48 billion.
The Senate trimmed down the budget of other agencies as well, including the Department of Agriculture (DA). The DA had a P21.25 billion reduction from its House budget, going from P180.28 billion to P159.02 billion.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s budget was also reduced from P261.29 billion down to P245.351 billion—a P15.9 billion cut.
The Department of Transportation’s budget was also cut by P18.8 billion, going from the House-approved P174.43 billion down to P155.62 billion.
The Department of Labor and Employment also had its House-approved budget reduced to P50.81 billion from P58.12 billion: a P7.32 billion cut.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources also got a net cut of P1.01 billion, going from P28.46 billion in the House down to P27.44 billion. The budget of the Department of Health was also trimmed by P13.66 billion.
Education gets a bigger cut
However, not all government agencies are at risk of their funding being reduced, with many others either being retained or increased.
The Department of Education got a massive increase of P72.35 billion from the House budget, going from P914.14 billion to P987.50 billion. The budget for state universities and colleges was also increased by P73.35 billion, now totaling P139.03 billion.
Sen. Win Gatchalian, the Senate’s Finance Chair, lauded the passing of the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Act, calling it an education budget.
Gatchalian said that P1.37 trillion was allotted for the education sector—“a total of 4.5% of the country’s gross domestic product.”
The Department of Interior and Local Government got a P24.44 billion increase, going from P285.63 billion to P310.08 billion.
With the Senate passing their version of the budget, they must now hold a bicameral conference committee with the House of Representatives to reconcile the two versions of the budget. The Senate delegation to the bicam includes senators Gatchalian, Mark Villar, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Camille Villar, Jinggoy Estrada and Bato dela Rosa.
