SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Monday vowed that the House of Representatives would closely scrutinize the proposed P6.793-trillion 2026 national budget.
“Bawat piso ay may pinaglalaanan, at bawat gastusin ay dapat may pakinabang sa tao,” Speaker Romualdez told members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) at the start of the House hearings on next year’s outlay.
Four DBCC members briefed the House appropriations committee chaired by Nueva Ecija Rep. Mika Suansing on budget proposed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. to Congress.
The proposal is known as National Expenditure Program (NEP).
The briefers were Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan Jr. and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Eli Remolona Jr.
“To our partners in the Executive Branch, allow me to be clear: we will scrutinize, we will question, we will deliberate thoroughly. But we will do so not as adversaries, but as allies united by a shared purpose,” Speaker Romualdez said.
“For at the end of the day, at the heart of our collaboration lies a common goal: to deliver a better, more dignified life for every Filipino family,” he said.
The House leader likened national fund allocation to budgeting by a Filipino family.
“Just as every Filipino household plans its budget with care, we too must ensure that each peso serves a meaningful purpose,” he said.
“This is not merely a fiscal principle — it is a moral imperative. It is our solemn duty to translate this proposed P6.793 trillion budget into classrooms for our youth, medicine for our sick, roads for our farmers, jobs for our youth, and security for our nation,” Speaker Romualdez said.
He said the House budget hearings are not just “a routine in fiscal exercise.”
“It is where the lifeblood of our nation — the people’s money — is measured against the people’s needs. Here, in this august chamber, we commence the critical work of transforming vision into action, and action into lasting progress,” he added.
He informed DBCC members, who are also part of the President’s economic team, that the House “has opened its doors wider than ever before.”
“We ended the practice of the ‘small committee’. We welcomed civil society observers. Because the Filipino people deserve full transparency in how their hard-earned money is planned, allocated, and spent,” he said.
“Kapag malinaw ang proseso, malinaw din ang tiwala. At kapag may tiwala ang taumbayan, may lakas ang pamahalaan. Transparency is not an option — it is the cornerstone of democratic governance,” he said.
“But candor requires that we also confront the hard truths. Our economy continues to feel the effects of global uncertainty. Inflation weighs heavily on the poor. Our debt, swollen by the pandemic, must be managed wisely,” he said.
Speaker Romualdez said growth targets must inspire confidence not only in the Filipino people, but in investors and markets that watch the country closely.
“That is why this DBCC is so vital. It is the crucible where assumptions are examined, where aspirations are tested against reality,” he added.
He stressed that the national budget “is not merely an accounting ledger — it is a vision.”
“It stands as the government’s most important policy instrument, the blueprint that must bring to life President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for a Bagong Pilipinas,” he said.
“It is a comprehensive plan to connect communities, lower food costs, uplift education, strengthen healthcare systems, create livelihoods, and safeguard our sovereignty,” he said.
The House leader told the DBCC to “be remembered not only for figures presented, but for the principles we upheld.”
“Let it be said that here, leaders chose honesty over evasion, service over self-interest, and unity over division,” he said.
“Budgets are not built on numbers alone. They are built on trust. And trust is built on truth. If we honor that truth, this budget will not merely be a plan of government — it will be a covenant of hope with every Filipino,” Speaker Romualdez added.
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