SENATE Finance Committee Chairman Joseph Victor Ejercito assured the public that the Senate will eliminate any last-minute budget insertions to the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 during the bicameral conference.
This comes after the executive branch submitted to Congress on Tuesday the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), which sets the administration’s proposed spending priorities for next year. The P7.2 trillion proposal will undergo congressional scrutiny before the General Appropriations Act is enacted. ”We will continue the reforms that we started in the national budget this year,” Ejercito said, stressing the Senate’s commitment to prevent a repeat of questionable budget insertions that had been linked to the funding of anomalous flood control projects. The senator said every request for budget amendments would undergo assessment and justification before being considered, adding that civil society organizations will be invited to participate in budget hearings, while bicameral committee deliberations will be livestreamed for public monitoring. Budget documents, he said, will be uploaded to the Senate website. In his initial assessment of the budget, Ejercito welcomed what he described as the continued prioritization of education, health and social protection, which together account for about P2.45 trillion. He commended the proposed P99.1-billion allocation for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), P74.5 billion for the National Health Insurance Program, and P61.1 billion for free higher education in state universities, colleges and local universities and colleges. Ejercito expressed support for the proposed P19-billion allocation for the Department of Health’s zero-balance-billing program in government and local government hospitals, saying the measure would help reduce the financial burden of hospitalization on Filipino families. He backed the proposed P1.8-trillion infrastructure allocation, describing infrastructure spending as necessary to stimulate economic activity and support development.
