THE House Committee on Appropriations’ subcommittee on budget amendments review on Monday started the process of reallocating the P255 billion that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) removed from its 2026 budget.
“Our colleagues and our countrymen watching now can see that this is the blank excel sheet that we will complete piece by piece throughout the deliberations for today. So line by line, department by department,… you will see today how we will put together the P255 billion,” Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing said, referring to the excel sheet shown during the livestreamed deliberations.
The committee approved the increase for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development by P32 billion.
Also approved by the subcommittee was the addition of the following amounts to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE): 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.
P635.2 million was added to the budget of the Special Training for Employment Program under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
P22.5 billion went to the budget for “Basic Education Facilities – New Construction, Completion, Rehabilitation, and Fixtures” under the Department of Education.
P6.6 billion was added to the budget of the Tertiary Education Subsidy under the Commission on Higher Education.
P7 billion was reallocated to the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk.
With the reduction of P255 billion, the proposed DPWH budget amounted to P625 billion.
“The main task of the budget amendments review subcommittee today is to allocate the P255 billion that was taken out by the Department of Public Works and Highways from their budget,” Suansing said.
“Again, this is unprecedented. Never has it happened in the history of the budget process wherein the committee would have to realign and reallocate P255 billion in funds before the plenary deliberations start,” she said.
The proposed national budget for 2026 is P6.793 trillion.
