NTA inclusion in budget clarified

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Thursday that the National Tax Allotment (NTA) is distinct from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) after a Supreme Court petition challenging its inclusion in the 2026 budget.

“The NTA is not a discretionary appropriation under the GAA. It is a constitutional obligation implemented in coordination with, but not created by, the annual budget law,” the department said in a statement.

This followed a petition seeking to declare unconstitutional the inclusion of the P1.19-trillion NTA in the 2026 GAA, with petitioners arguing local governments’ tax share is not subject to legislative appropriation and should instead be automatically released.

According to the petitioners, since the Congress failed to pass the 2026 national budget on time, the government only accrued P1.03 trillion for local government units (LGUs) instead of the P1.19 trillion proposed for 2026.

However, the DBM said that the inclusion of the NTA amount in the annual budget documents does not necessarily transform it into a discretionary national fund.

“The GAA legislates agency appropriations — that is, amounts that fund national government programs and operations subject to budget executive rules,” it said.

“The NTA, by contrast, is not dependent on annual legislative discretion, is not subject to executive veto as a program item, is not conditioned upon agency performance or compliance, and is not diminished or adjusted during budget execution,” it added.

Implementing the NTA alongside GAA is only for purposes of transparency, accounting, and fiscal programming, the department said.

“Far from weakening local autonomy, the transparent presentation of the NTA within the national budget strengthens fiscal predictability for LGUs and reinforces responsible macro-fiscal management for the country as a whole,” it said.

Following the filing, the DBM said that it will follow the judicial process through the Office of the Solicitor General.

“We will direct our legal team to thoroughly study the issues raised and to submit the government’s arguments in the appropriate proceedings,” it said.

“We remain steadfast in upholding both local autonomy and fiscal discipline under the rule of law,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile