Senator Win Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said the timeline for passing the proposed ₱6.793-trillion 2026 national budget is “very tight.”
Originally set to tackle budget amendments on December 1, the session was postponed due to an office fire that damaged the Senate hall. Despite December 2 being a non-working holiday in Pasay City, senators agreed to meet to prevent further delays.
“Pinakiusapan ko na lang ‘yung mga kasamahan natin na mag-session tayo bukas kahit na holiday kasi kung magse-session tayo ng Wednesday for period amendments, ‘yun, talagang madedelay ‘yun,” Gatchalian said.
The tentative budget schedule is as follows:
Dec. 2 – Budget amendments
Dec. 3 – Second reading approval
Dec. 9 – Third reading approval
Dec. 11-13 – Bicameral conference committee
Dec. 16 – Signing of bicam report
Dec. 17 – Ratification of bicam report
Dec. 29 – Enactment of 2026 General Appropriations Act
“Very tight, to be honest about it. ‘Pag titingnan mo nga ‘yung bicameral, three days lang ‘yung binigay namin sa sarili namin. We have to really work fast and find a common ground,” Gatchalian added.