The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is seeking a ₱7.2-trillion national budget for the 2027 fiscal year, equivalent to 21.7% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The proposed spending plan is 6% higher than the 2026 budget of ₱6.793 trillion, marking an increase of ₱407 billion.
The financial blueprint was detailed in National Budget Memorandum (NBM) 158, issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and signed by Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon.
“The proposed budget for next year will focus on programs, activities and projects (PAPs) that seek to create better opportunities and address the needs of the Filipino people, helping ensure a more resilient and secure future for all,” the memorandum stated.
De Leon underscored that state agencies face a rigorous vetting process for their funding requests.
He emphasized that the government aims to channel resources into highly productive sectors, checking each agency’s capacity to execute projects swiftly so that “every budgeted peso translates to meaningful and tangible accomplishments.”
The guidelines acknowledge that crafting the upcoming budget involves navigating tight economic boundaries.
“In crafting the proposed FY (fiscal year) 2027 budget, the government is confronted with a very narrow fiscal space, further constrained by funding pressures from automatically appropriated items, such as the National Tax Allotment shares of LGUs (local government units) and interest payments, as well as the requirements of newly-enacted laws and recurrent mandatory expenditures,” the document noted.
To manage these financial hurdles, the DBM is mandating that all proposed initiatives secure clearance from oversight bodies. The government plans to prioritize funding for unfinished flagship infrastructure, pre-construction phases, and local counterparts for foreign-backed projects to maximize economic benefits.
“As such, all proposed PAPs should have undergone the necessary review and approval by relevant oversight agencies or committees within the prescribed budget preparation timelines to be considered for funding in the proposed FY 2027 Budget,” the document added.
The parameters outlined in NBM 158 align with the macroeconomic frameworks established by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).