MANILA, Philippines – With 54 lawmakers for, 6 against, and 4 abstaining, the House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday approved House Bill 4058 or the 2026 national budget bill.
This came after its budget amendments review subcommittee on Monday, despite the weather, worked to reallocate the P255 billion that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) removed from its 2026 budget.
With the bill’s passage at the committee level, deliberations on the budget will shift to the House plenary level before it can be sent to the Senate and, eventually, to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The 1987 Constitution states that appropriation bills shall originate exclusively in the House but that the Senate may propose or concur with amendments.
As proposed by the subcommittee, the mother committee on Tuesday approved the increase of the 2026 budget of P27 billion for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development by P32 billion.
Also approved were:
-the addition of the following amounts to the Department of Labor and Employment of P3.3 billion for the Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program, and P14.8 billion for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers / Government Internship Program;
-addition of P635.2 million to the budget of the Special Training for Employment Program under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority;
-addition of P22.5 billion to the budget of P28 billion for “Basic Education Facilities – New Construction, Completion, Rehabilitation, and Fixtures” under the Department of Education;
-addition of P6.6 billion to the budget of the Tertiary Education Subsidy under the Commission on Higher Education; -reallocation of P7 billion to the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk; and
-reallocation of P7.4 billion to the Commission on Elections’ budget for the Nov. 2026 village and youth council elections.
The above were just some of the reallocations made in connection with the P255 billion.
