Details about the House of Representatives’ Proposed Budget for 2026 Exposed
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – The proposed budget of the lower chamber for 2026 is cut by P16.8 billion compared to its current fund.
The National Expenditure Program or NEP for the proposed 2026 budget was already turned over by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the lower chamber. The proposed national budget for 2026 is at P6.793 trillion.
Following the transfer of the NEP, President Bongbong Marcos called on the Congress to “swiftly enact” the proposed 2026 budget saying that the country is poised to be a leader among the nations. According to him, the nation is on the track over its “Agenda for Prosperity”.
Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero previously stressed that the “power of the purse” still belongs to the Congress following the remarks of Marcos Jr. that he will not approve budget proposals that are not in line with the plans of the government. Ahead of the budget talks, Malacañang called on the Congress not to abuse the “power of the purse”.
The Palace also reiterated the desire of Marcos Jr. to make the budget deliberation accessible by the public. House Speaker Martin Romualdez filed a resolution seeking for “watchdogs” during the budget talks for the 2026 national fund.
During his 4th State of the Nation Address, Marcos Jr. assured the people that education remains on top of his administration’s priorities. Indeed, the education department gets one of the biggest budget proposal. Here are the proposed budget for the key departments in the government:
- Department of Education (DepEd) — P928.5 billion
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — P881.3 billion
- Department of Health (DOH) — P320.5 billion
- Department of National Defense (DND) — P299.3 billion
- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) — P287.5 billion
- Department of Agriculture (DA) — P239.2 billion
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) — P227.0 billion
- Department of Transportation (DOTr) — P197.3 billion
- Judiciary Department — P67.9 billion
- Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) — P55.2 billion
However, based on a report on GMA News, with regards to the proposed budget for the House of Representatives, the chamber is hit by a huge cut of P16.8 billion. From the current P34 billion budget of the lower chamber, based on the NEP for the proposed 2026 budget, the chamber is proposed to be given only P17.2 billion.
Based on the report, the House of Representatives is allocated P6.46 billion for the personal services and Php 10.74 billion for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE). There is no budget allocation for the Capital Outlay for the chamber.
This year, the House was given P7.73 billion for the Personnel Services, P22.4 billion for the MOOE, and P4 billion for Capital Outlay — all higher compared to the proposed budget for the chamber for 2026. Based on the report, here is the breakdown of the proposed budget for the House for 2026:
- P6.22 billion for general management and supervision
- P649 million for administration of personnel benefits and
- P10.34 billion for House of Representatives Legislative Program
Previously, it was reported that the office of the House Speaker’s cousin, Pres. Bongbong Marcos, gets the biggest share in the Confidential and Intelligence Funds in the proposed 2026 budget.