The House of Representatives remains confident it can pass the proposed ₱6.79-trillion national budget for 2026 on schedule, even as lawmakers pressed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to review the National Expenditure Program (NEP) over flagged errors and questionable entries.
House spokesperson Princess Abante said deliberations are moving forward for items not affected by the controversy.
“Kaya nga tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang budget deliberations para ‘dun sa mga items na wala namang problema ay ma-tackle na siya. Hindi natin alam kung gano’ng kabilis ‘yung magiging review ng DBM doon sa mga budget na may nakitang may mga observations ang mga members,” she told reporters.
She added that the House appropriations panel has pressed on with its work despite the controversy, while party leaders expressed readiness to work extended hours to ensure approval of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) within the chamber’s timeline.
Abante clarified that calls to “return” the NEP do not mean a physical handover of budget documents, but a directive to DBM to fix the errors at the source level before the House proceeds with deliberations.
“Again, ‘yung sulian ng NEP ay hindi nga ito ‘yung physical na pagbalik. Hindi naman ganyan ang gagawin pero clear ang sentiments ng party leaders: there’s a need to review, to correct what they used, ‘yung massive mangling of the budget proposal. Kailangan siya i-correct. So ‘yun yung gustong iparating din ng party leaders,” she stressed.
Abante emphasized that lawmakers want DBM to take full responsibility for the NEP’s integrity. She noted that while errata are common, the volume of corrections required this year has raised suspicions and prompted members to publicly assert that these were not congressional insertions.
“The House cannot fulfill its duty of passing a sound and credible national budget unless the proposal it receives has first been cleansed of errors,” she said.
She added that party leaders were unanimous that the House should not be blamed again for questionable budget insertions amid heightened public scrutiny.
“This is not a simple matter for the House. This is a serious task. This is mandate given to the House of Representatives by the Constitution to review, to approve the budget of the government kaya siniseryoso ng Kamara ang kanilang tungkulin,” Abante said.