P7.2 trillion budget bill for 2027 filed

The bill serves as the legislative equivalent of the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) that Malacañang annually submits to Congress.

Philstar.com / Irra Lising

MANILA, Philippines —  The bill containing the government’s spending plan worth P7.2 trillion for fiscal year has been formally filed before the House of Representatives.

House committee on appropriations chairperson Mikaela Suansing said she has formally filed House Bill 10858 or the 2027 General Appropriations Bill.

The bill serves as the legislative equivalent of the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) that Malacañang annually submits to Congress.

“We are working to ensure the careful scrutiny of the national budget for the year 2027,” Suansing said.

The House of Representatives started the committee-level budget deliberations last week.

After the committee, the bill will then be deliberated at the plenary.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) earlier said the Department of Education (P976 billion) and Department of Public Works and Highways (P644 billion) were among the agencies with the largest allocations in the proposed budget for next year.

Senate conducts budget hearing

The Senate yesterday led the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) hearing into the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, with economic managers and senators talking about the need to tame inflation and end corruption following the flood control mess.

Monetary and fiscal managers from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Finance, and DBM were grilled by the senators about the rising cost of living and the global headwinds – like regional wars and oil price shocks – that affect economic growth.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian questioned BSP Governor Eli Remolona about the capacity of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which Remolona chairs, in flagging suspicious bank flows due to corruption.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan pointed toAMLC’s failure to flag Syms Construction flood control contractorSally Santos’ transaction at Landbank in cashing out an alleged P457 million kickback to dismissed district engineer Brice Hernandez, a finding of last year’s explosive Blue Ribbon flood control inquiry.

Remolona and other BSP officials said the AMLC is undergoing an AI project to digitize its monitoring of millions of covered and suspicious transactions flagged by and reported to the council.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he led last year’s augmentation of P162.9 million for the AMLC budget in 2026 for this AI project.

Sen. Camille Villar raised concern over the decline in the country’s gross domestic product growth rate, from 2.8 percent in the first quarter to 2.3 percent in the second quarter.

Remolona said tight spending as a result of the flood control mess contributed to the economic slowdown.

Asked by Sen. Risa Hontiveros about the economic “have-nots” that contributed to the slowdown, Remolona said the country has to diversify its oil supply and to get into the AI sector, as he cited the Pax Silica manufacturing hub as a welcome initiative.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) have asked lawmakers for an additional P4 billion for migrant worker assistance programs in the 2027 budget, citing the continuing Middle East conflict and the need to maintain sufficient resources for the repatriation and assistance of OFWs.

The 2027 NEP provides P7.726 billion for the DMW and P4.349 billion for OWWA. –  Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Christine Boton