Manila, Philippines — The House of Representatives will begin its thorough review of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), or the proposed national budget for next year, amounting to P7.2 trillion.
This follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s receipt of the NEP yesterday, August 10, which was formally turned over by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to lawmakers at the House of Representatives, led by House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III.
Under the proposed budget, Basic Education under the Department of Education (DepEd) continues to receive the largest allocation for next year, with P976 billion, equivalent to 13.55% of the total budget.
This is followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P644 billion; the Department of Health (DOH) with P353.8 billion; the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with P332 billion; the Department of National Defense (DND) with P328.8 billion; the Department of Transportation with P302.2 billion; and the Department of Agriculture with P261.7 billion.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a budget of P241.6 billion, while Higher Education is allocated P176.5 billion and the Judiciary P86.3 billion.
Meanwhile, Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) amount to only P111.9 billion, the lowest allocation at the NEP level since 2019.
This is equivalent to just 1.6% of the Total Expenditure Program (TEP), the lowest UA-to-TEP ratio since 1991.
Meanwhile, P10.7 billion has been allocated for Confidential and Intelligence Funds included in the 2027 NEP, to be distributed among legally authorized agencies.
This is 8.8% lower than this year’s allocation.
House Speaker Dy said the public can be assured that every part of the proposed budget will be scrutinized, together with the various government agencies, including how much funding they are requesting, where and how the funds will be used, and what concrete results and benefits these will bring to Filipinos.
Meanwhile, Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert Deleon said the provisions of the 2027 budget are particularly important because it will fund the completion of the administration’s priority projects and programs before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term ends.
Meanwhile, House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Suansing said budget deliberations are scheduled to begin on August 17, followed by committee hearings, a budget briefing, and budget hearings through September 8.
After this, the proposal will proceed to plenary deliberations, with the House targeting approval by October 9.
Suansing also assured that the House will remain transparent throughout all deliberations on the proposed budget until the process is completed.
It can be recalled that in the previous year, the Budget Amendments and Reviews Sub-Committee (BARSC) will also be formed, along with the People’s Budget Review Engagement, which will provide civil society organizations an opportunity to participate in the budget process and promote transparency in the National Budget.