MANILA, Philippines – The Senate passed the P6.793-trillion proposed 2026 national budget on third and final reading, retaining P175 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.

The upper chamber passed the spending bill with a unanimous 17 votes during its plenary session on Tuesday, December 9.

According to Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian, funding for the education sector continued to get the lion’s share at P1.37 trillion.

Gatchalian added that the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was further reduced to P570.48 billion from the House version of the spending plan. He attributed the reduction to adjustments in the costing of construction materials.

“As an added safeguard against ghost projects, all infrastructure projects must now have station numbers and specific coordinates,” he explained.

Despite the unanimous vote, senators continued to push for amendments at the bicameral conference committee (bicam) level, particularly in the health sector.

Senator Loren Legarda urged the bicam to include a special provision to move the P60 billion currently allocated for benefit package improvements to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) reserve fund. She said this will treat the P60 billion as a return of the state health insurer’s reserves instead of a program expansion.

Legarda’s remarks come after the Supreme Court ordered the return of P60 billion to PhilHealth after its “excess” funds were transferred to the national treasury. Gatchalian earlier said that these were already incorporated into the PhilHealth’s budget through the 2026 spending plan.

Senator Pia Cayetano, meanwhile, raised concern over the shortage of funds for PhilHealth.

According to her, the Bureau of Internal Revenue said P69 billion in sin tax collections was earmarked for PhilHealth. However, the allocation for the state health insurer under the proposed 2026 budget was P16.52 billion short of this amount.

“Merong violation of fiduciary duties, Mr. President (There’s a violation of fiduciary duties, Mr. President). If the funding that by law has been earmarked for sin tax and shall be given to PhilHealth, it is not delivered to PhilHealth. I do not want this body to be complicit in allowing this to happen,” Cayetano said.

Livestreamed bicam?

All eyes are now on the bicam meetings, where the Senate at the House of Representatives will reconcile disagreeing provisions of the budget. This will be the first time these deliberations will be livestreamed to the public.

Senator Erwin Tulfo earlier raised concerns that some House members were seeking to block the livestreaming of the bicam. But Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said House Speaker Bojie Dy did not mention any opposition to the open bicam during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council meeting earlier that day.

The following senators will be participating in the bicam: Sherwin Gatchalian, Mark Villar, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Camille Villar, Jinggoy Estrada, Bato dela Rosa, Bong Go, and Imee Marcos.

According to the Senate’s schedule, the bicam is set to begin on Friday, December 12. – Rappler.com