MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday approved the Office of the President’s (OP) proposed P10.15-billion budget for 2027 after an 18-minute hearing, with officials citing interparliamentary courtesy.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the proposed allocation is 64 percent lower than the OP 2026 budget and accounts for only a small portion of the government’s proposed P7.2-trillion national budget.
Recto said the reduction amounted to roughly P10 billion and represented about 0.14 percent of the total national budget.
“I thank the Senate because they saw that the budget of the Office of the President for next year is 64 percent lower than this year,” Recto said after the committee’s approval.
He said the allocation was relatively small considering the Office of the President’s role in supporting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“The budget of the Office of the President is very small considering it is the engine room of the chief of state,” Recto said.
Despite the swift committee approval, the proposed budget is expected to face further scrutiny during the Senate plenary deliberations.
