# Senate Committee on Finance: DBM, Lump-Sum Funds, BSGC and ALGU - October 22, 2026 — Source-Linked Digest

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp-D3C0MTDY

AI-assisted working draft. AI can make errors. Always verify consequential interpretations and wording against the cited transcript and official video.

## At a glance

- **Agency proposals:** The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) faced questions on spending cuts, retained local assistance, delayed utilization, infrastructure funding and safeguards. Acting DBM Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon and MMDA Chairman Romando Artes explained their proposals and defended or qualified implementation choices.

- **Unprogrammed appropriations and fiscal rules:** Committee chair Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito, Senator Imee R. Marcos, Senator Sherwin "Win" T. Gatchalian and Senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan pressed DBM on the Supreme Court ruling, release triggers, funding certifications, reconciliation and safeguards. DBM described its legal review and sought clarification from the Office of the Solicitor General; the ruling's implications remained under study.

- **Local assistance and accountability:** Marcos and Gatchalian questioned Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) eligibility, overlapping assistance, delayed implementation and performance criteria. De Leon acknowledged that DBM could not itself check duplicate aid across agencies, described work with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Health, and committed to provide recipient and utilization information. Questions also covered Growth Equity Fund guidance and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict barangay coverage.

- **Implementation and public services:** Members raised infrastructure project readiness, flood mitigation and dredging, pumping-station repairs, disaster and El Niño response, livestock indemnities, Sulu service continuity, procurement reform, devolution and local fire-service proposals. Responses included document and utilization commitments, MMDA coordination and repair plans, and funding or legal questions that remained unresolved. DBM promised to follow up on farm indemnities and issue Growth Equity Fund guidelines in January after passage of the budget, subject to changes; MMDA committed to finish the cited pump repairs before the next rainy season.

- **Committee outcome:** Ejercito said remaining questions would be submitted to DBM and other agencies for answers before plenary. He submitted the DBM budget, attached agencies, lump-sum funds, government-corporation support and local-government allocations for plenary consideration subject to further discussion and document submission, then suspended the briefing.

Reading note: The budget account distinguishes the FY 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) from original requests and prior-year General Appropriations Act (GAA) figures. Conditions, conflicting totals and unresolved legal or implementation questions are retained as stated in the accepted hearing accounts.

## Agency budget summary

### Department of Budget and Management

PHP 3.125 billion was the FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocation presented for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), including its attached agency, against an original PHP 5.780 billion proposal.

[00:12:30 · asr-000077](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000077) · [00:12:34 · asr-000078](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000078) · [00:12:41 · asr-000079](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000079) · [00:12:46 · asr-000080](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000080)

### Special purpose funds

The FY 2027 proposal for seven special purpose funds (SPFs) was presented as an aggregate of PHP 635.9 billion, or 8.83% of the PHP 7.2 trillion expenditure program. The listed fund totals do not reconcile exactly to the aggregate; recipients and details for most funds depend on execution conditions and approvals.

[00:20:08 · asr-000263](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000263) · [00:20:11 · asr-000264](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000264) · [00:20:13 · asr-000265](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000265) · [00:20:14 · asr-000266](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000266) · [00:20:16 · asr-000267](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000267) · [00:20:18 · asr-000268](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000268) · [00:20:32 · asr-000275](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000275) · [00:20:40 · asr-000279](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000279) · [00:20:44 · asr-000281](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000281)

### Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

For FY 2027, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) presented PHP 6.560 billion as both its request and NEP allocation; the presentation supplied no separate original DBM-submission total.

[00:44:25 · asr-000939](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000939) · [00:44:27 · asr-000940](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000940) · [00:45:00 · asr-000958](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000958)

## Department of Budget and Management budget

### DBM components, comparison and utilization

The FY2027 allocation was presented as 12.45% below FY2026, mainly because of lower maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and no capital outlay. The presentation did not supply the matched FY2026 base amount.

The presentation assigned 94.88% of the FY2027 total to the DBM Office of the Secretary (OSEC) and 5.12% to the Government Procurement Policy Board–Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO). It separately gave OSEC's allocation as ₱2.965 billion, with 80.88% for regular programs and 14.05% for locally funded projects, including digital transformation and public financial management reforms. The GPPB-TSO allocation was stated as ₱152.31 million, with its decline attributed to lower maintenance and other expenses and no capital outlay in the FY2027 NEP.

The subsequent consolidated breakdown conflicts with the preceding agency figures and contains inconsistent units; those component totals cannot be reliably reconciled from the presentation.

For FY2025, DBM reported an 82.82% obligation rate and an 85.56% disbursement rate. First-semester FY2026 utilization figures were inconsistent: the obligation rate was given as both 35% and 34.20%, while the reported disbursement rate was 71.40%. The cash amounts also conflicted.

[00:13:03 · asr-000083](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000083) · [00:13:25 · asr-000089](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000089) · [00:13:30 · asr-000090](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000090) · [00:13:35 · asr-000091](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000091) · [00:13:51 · asr-000095](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000095) · [00:14:54 · asr-000109](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000109) · [00:15:00 · asr-000110](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000110) · [00:15:17 · asr-000119](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000119) · [00:11:00 · asr-000056](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000056) · [00:11:40 · asr-000064](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000064) · [00:11:57 · asr-000069](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000069) · [00:16:10 · asr-000145](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000145)

### DBM continuing appropriations and project underspending

Marcos questioned the DBM's continuing appropriation and low obligation rate. She cited ₱598.28 million still available for obligation and said only ₱184 million, or 30.79% by her first figure and 30.77% in her later reference, had been obligated. De Leon confirmed the ₱598.28 million figure, but said the report needed updating because negative special allotment release orders (SAROs) were issued after the reporting cutoff. He said some projects had been offered as savings under National Budget Circulars 602 and 603, with the savings intended to support other government interventions. Marcos asked which projects were funded, why the funds remained unused, and whether unspent balances would revert to the Treasury. De Leon said DBM was reviewing its public financial management projects, checking whether they should continue, and reprioritizing; he said the continuing balances were one reason DBM approved a lower FY2027 budget. The exchange did not identify the specific projects or state a final disposition for these balances.

[01:15:21 · asr-001739](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001739) · [01:15:51 · asr-001741](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001741) · [01:15:56 · asr-001742](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001742) · [01:15:57 · asr-001743](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001743) · [01:16:05 · asr-001745](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001745) · [01:16:15 · asr-001747](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001747) · [01:16:27 · asr-001750](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001750) · [01:16:39 · asr-001751](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001751) · [01:17:07 · asr-001757](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001757) · [01:17:15 · asr-001758](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001758) · [01:17:36 · asr-001762](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001762) · [01:17:47 · asr-001763](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001763) · [01:18:14 · asr-001768](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001768) · [01:18:30 · asr-001771](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001771)

### DBM OSEC proposal and spending cuts

Ejercito compared the DBM Office of the Secretary (OSEC) FY2027 original proposal of ₱5.486 billion with its ₱2.965 billion NEP allocation, and asked which programs or priorities would be compromised. He separately noted that OSEC received no capital-outlay funding in the FY2027 NEP, alongside substantial maintenance and other operating expense cuts, including a ₱328.9 million reduction in subscription and information and communications technology software licensing. De Leon said no service would be adversely affected: DBM would recalibrate continuing appropriations expected to carry over from FY2026, reassess spending and pursue efficiencies. He said DBM Compass was launched without cost to government and that its in-house DBM Submit portal used existing staff and resources, allowing digitalization to proceed despite the cuts.

[02:22:29 · asr-003563](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003563) · [02:22:37 · asr-003567](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003567) · [02:22:39 · asr-003568](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003568) · [02:22:41 · asr-003569](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003569) · [02:22:43 · asr-003570](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003570) · [02:23:21 · asr-003589](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003589) · [02:24:42 · asr-003631](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003631) · [02:25:00 · asr-003640](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003640) · [02:25:24 · asr-003652](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003652)

### OSEC request, approved amount and continuing subscriptions

Turning to the Department of Budget and Management Office of the Secretary (OSEC), Marcos said the original FY 2027 request was ₱5.377 billion, but only ₱2.855 billion was cited as approved for OSEC in the budget proposal. She said this was 13% below its FY 2026 level after requirements were excluded. Those amounts differ from the OSEC figure presented earlier in the DBM briefing; the exchange does not reconcile the discrepancy.

De Leon said DBM had revisited its requirements, including subscription expansions, and decided to reassess their need and use existing continuing appropriations before requesting more. Asked which essential services or committed reforms would be delayed or scaled back, he said no program would be discontinued and that digital transformation efforts would proceed within the reduced budget without additional funding.

[03:05:15 · asr-005593](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005593) · [03:05:22 · asr-005596](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005596) · [03:05:27 · asr-005599](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005599) · [03:05:47 · asr-005609](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005609) · [03:06:18 · asr-005624](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005624) · [03:06:40 · asr-005635-split-2](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005635-split-2)

### PS-DBM mandate and procurement savings

Senator Sherwin “Win” T. Gatchalian raised the Pharmally and Department of Education (DepEd) laptop controversies involving the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), asking what reforms it had made, what benefits it provided and whether it had returned to its common-use procurement mandate. Acting DBM Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said PS-DBM was back to its basic mandate of procuring common-use supplies and equipment; it now rarely acts as a procurement agent for other activities, which require his clearance. He agreed that PS-DBM no longer procures fire trucks. Under the New Government Procurement Act, national agencies, local government units (LGUs), and state universities and colleges are required to source common-use items through the Procurement Service (PS); DBM is focusing on stock availability. Its e-marketplace also covers vehicles and email subscriptions.

De Leon said bulk purchasing produced prices about 20–30% below market prices. Asked for the average savings, he repeated an estimate of about 20–30% but said he would ask a Procurement Service official for the nominal figures. On fund parking, De Leon said PS-DBM could no longer be used as a parking lot. Gatchalian said agencies had parked funds at PS-DBM or the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) to window-dress their financials.

[03:12:39 · asr-005813](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005813) · [03:13:05 · asr-005826](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005826) · [03:13:50 · asr-005846](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005846) · [03:14:37 · asr-005870](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005870) · [03:14:55 · asr-005879](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005879) · [03:15:39 · asr-005885](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005885) · [03:15:46 · asr-005887](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005887) · [03:16:05 · asr-005889](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005889)

## Special purpose funds budget

### Special purpose fund release conditions

Except for the Allocation to Local Government Units (ALGU), Budgetary Support to Government Corporations (BSGC), and Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP), recipients and details become available during budget execution subject to conditions and approvals.

[00:20:32 · asr-000275](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000275) · [00:20:40 · asr-000279](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000279) · [00:20:44 · asr-000281](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000281)

### Local government allocations and shares

The opening summary put the FY2027 Allocation to Local Government Units (ALGU) allocation at PHP 109.13 billion, including PHP 6.55 billion for the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), PHP 31.48 billion in LGU shares of national taxes, PHP 58.53 billion for the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), PHP 1.14 billion in fire-code-fee shares, and PHP 11.43 billion for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The later comparison explicitly excludes MMDA: ALGU was PHP 67.81 billion in FY2025 and PHP 101.59 billion in FY2026; the FY2027 proposal is PHP 102.57 billion, up PHP 979.45 million or 0.96%. The latter comprises PHP 58.53 billion for LGSF, including PHP 37.49 billion in LGU financial assistance, PHP 9.74 billion for the Barangay Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), PHP 10.3 billion for the Growth Equity Fund, and PHP 1 billion for participatory-budgeting assistance.

The BARMM amount includes a PHP 5 billion Special Development Fund (SDF) and PHP 6.43 billion in regional shares of taxes, fees and charges certified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The presenter linked the SDF to Republic Act No. 11054, but his account of the statutory annual and aggregate amounts was internally inconsistent. The BARMM tax, fee and charge share increased PHP 838 million or 15% from FY2026, based on BIR collection goals and certifications.

The PHP 31.48 billion national-tax share includes tobacco excise taxes, national wealth, Cagayan Special Economic Zone gross-income tax, incremental value-added tax (VAT), and special privilege tax. The national-wealth share falls from PHP 8.8 billion in FY2026 to about PHP 8.54 billion in FY2027. Virginia-type cigarette and Burley/native tobacco shares remain at FY2025 levels of PHP 14 billion and PHP 4 billion. The Cagayan zone share falls from PHP 4.83 million to PHP 3.52 million (27.13%); the incremental VAT share moves from PHP 1.916 billion to PHP 1.915 billion; the FY2027 special privilege-tax share is PHP 14.62 million. Fire-code-fee shares fall from PHP 1.41 billion to PHP 1.14 billion (19.17%).

By September 30, 2026, DBM had released PHP 104 billion under the FY2026 program: PHP 87.9 billion charged to the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and PHP 16.29 billion to the 2025 GAA. The remaining PHP 26.28 billion comprised PHP 20.52 billion from the current-year GAA and PHP 5.76 billion from the 2025 GAA.

[00:18:51 · asr-000224](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000224) · [00:18:53 · asr-000225](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000225) · [00:18:59 · asr-000228](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000228) · [00:19:00 · asr-000229](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000229) · [00:19:08 · asr-000233](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000233) · [00:19:11 · asr-000234](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000234) · [00:19:13 · asr-000235](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000235) · [00:19:15 · asr-000236](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000236) · [00:19:21 · asr-000239](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000239) · [00:19:27 · asr-000242](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000242) · [00:19:29 · asr-000243](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000243) · [00:21:06 · asr-000292](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000292) · [00:21:09 · asr-000293](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000293) · [00:21:10 · asr-000294](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000294) · [00:21:18 · asr-000298](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000298) · [00:21:21 · asr-000299](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000299) · [00:21:23 · asr-000300](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000300) · [00:21:26 · asr-000301](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000301) · [00:21:27 · asr-000302](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000302) · [00:21:36 · asr-000306](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000306) · [00:21:38 · asr-000307](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000307) · [00:21:42 · asr-000309](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000309) · [00:21:48 · asr-000312](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000312) · [00:21:50 · asr-000313](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000313) · [00:21:52 · asr-000314](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000314) · [00:21:58 · asr-000317](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000317) · [00:22:11 · asr-000323](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000323) · [00:22:19 · asr-000327](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000327) · [00:22:51 · asr-000343](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000343) · [00:22:53 · asr-000344](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000344) · [00:23:18 · asr-000357](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000357) · [00:24:00 · asr-000378](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000378) · [00:24:03 · asr-000379](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000379) · [00:24:04 · asr-000380](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000380) · [00:24:19 · asr-000387](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000387) · [00:24:21 · asr-000388](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000388) · [00:24:34 · asr-000395](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000395) · [00:24:38 · asr-000397](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000397) · [00:24:41 · asr-000398](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000398) · [00:24:42 · asr-000399](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000399) · [00:24:50 · asr-000403](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000403) · [00:24:53 · asr-000404](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000404) · [00:24:54 · asr-000405](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000405) · [00:25:03 · asr-000409](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000409) · [00:25:09 · asr-000412](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000412) · [00:25:13 · asr-000414](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000414) · [00:25:15 · asr-000415](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000415) · [00:25:17 · asr-000416](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000416) · [00:25:19 · asr-000417](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000417) · [00:25:28 · asr-000422](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000422) · [00:25:30 · asr-000423](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000423) · [00:25:33 · asr-000424](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000424) · [00:25:34 · asr-000425](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000425) · [00:25:36 · asr-000426](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000426) · [00:25:38 · asr-000427](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000427) · [00:25:44 · asr-000430](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000430) · [00:25:47 · asr-000431](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000431) · [00:25:48 · asr-000432](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000432) · [00:25:52 · asr-000434](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000434) · [00:25:54 · asr-000435](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000435) · [00:19:23 · asr-000240](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000240)

### Budgetary support to government corporations

The FY2027 Budgetary Support to Government Corporations (BSGC) proposal is PHP 181.97 billion. DBM attributed its 31.29% decrease largely to a lower Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) allocation after a one-time PHP 60 billion FY2026 GAA appropriation, made in compliance with a Supreme Court decision, restored excess or unused subsidies for indigent beneficiaries' annual premiums. At the end of FY2026's third quarter, allotment releases totaled PHP 252.39 billion: PHP 251.75 billion from the 2026 GAA and PHP 644 million from 2025 continuing appropriations. The remaining PHP 27.47 billion comprised about PHP 23.5 billion from the 2026 GAA and PHP 3.95 billion from 2025 continuing appropriations.

DBM said the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) received no current-year GAA subsidy and was proposed PHP 5 billion in FY2027 toward the Philippine International Exhibition Center project. Other cited reductions reflected completed or nonrecurring work: a PHP 16.89 billion National Irrigation Administration (NIA) decrease, including a foreign-assisted Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Stage 2 provision falling from PHP 5.76 billion to PHP 961.32 million under a Korea Economic Development Cooperation Fund loan; a PHP 115 million National Food Authority (NFA) decrease after one-time dryer and warehouse purchases; a PHP 3.65 billion decrease, linked by the presenter to a PHP 3.67 billion FY2026 rural-electrification provision; and a PHP 2 billion decrease linked to one-time crop and fisheries insurance. The agency acronyms spoken for those last two items do not match the described functions. Other reductions were PHP 720 million for the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), PHP 1.17 billion net of reimbursements for the Philippine Heart Center, PHP 1.62 billion for the National Housing Authority (NHA), and PHP 125.3 million for the National Dairy Authority. Top-ten GOCC releases reached PHP 220 billion, 91% of FY2026 allocation, leaving PHP 21.6 billion unreleased.

[00:19:37 · asr-000247](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000247) · [00:19:40 · asr-000248](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000248) · [00:25:59 · asr-000438](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000438) · [00:26:14 · asr-000445](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000445) · [00:26:15 · asr-000446](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000446) · [00:26:29 · asr-000452](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000452) · [00:26:31 · asr-000453](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000453) · [00:26:33 · asr-000454](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000454) · [00:26:39 · asr-000457](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000457) · [00:26:45 · asr-000460](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000460) · [00:26:47 · asr-000461](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000461) · [00:26:48 · asr-000462](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000462) · [00:26:53 · asr-000464](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000464) · [00:27:08 · asr-000472](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000472) · [00:27:30 · asr-000483](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000483) · [00:27:38 · asr-000487](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000487) · [00:27:50 · asr-000493](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000493) · [00:28:07 · asr-000501](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000501) · [00:28:09 · asr-000502](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000502) · [00:28:10 · asr-000503](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000503) · [00:28:17 · asr-000506](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000506) · [00:28:34 · asr-000515](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000515) · [00:28:39 · asr-000517](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000517) · [00:28:52 · asr-000524](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000524) · [00:29:07 · asr-000531](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000531) · [00:29:17 · asr-000536](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000536) · [00:29:19 · asr-000537](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000537) · [00:29:28 · asr-000542](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000542) · [00:29:38 · asr-000547](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000547) · [00:29:40 · asr-000548](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000548) · [00:29:48 · asr-000552](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000552) · [00:29:49 · asr-000553](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000553) · [00:29:52 · asr-000554](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000554) · [00:29:59 · asr-000558](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000558) · [00:26:35 · asr-000455](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000455)

### Contingent Fund

DBM proposed PHP 13 billion for FY2027, the same level as in FY2025 and FY2026. It covers new or urgent government activities, including final and executory legal obligations, newly created offices, and deficiencies in presidential travel appropriations. It cannot fund confidential or intelligence funds for civilian agencies without a security mandate unless the President certifies extreme necessity, or buy motor vehicles. Releases require prior presidential approval except payments under final and executory decisions. By the end of FY2026's third quarter, PHP 16.35 billion had been allotted, leaving PHP 3.13 billion: PHP 2.31 billion from the 2026 GAA and PHP 820 million from 2025 continuing appropriations. Major cited releases included PHP 6 billion for the PRA exhibition-center project, PHP 5.98 billion for urgent Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) infrastructure, and PHP 1.5 billion to rehabilitate and replace the rubber bladder at Bustos Dam under NIA.

[00:30:02 · asr-000559](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000559) · [00:31:26 · asr-000567](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000567) · [00:31:33 · asr-000568](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000568) · [00:31:43 · asr-000569](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000569) · [00:31:56 · asr-000571](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000571) · [00:32:09 · asr-000572](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000572) · [00:32:15 · asr-000573](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000573) · [00:32:25 · asr-000577](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000577)

### Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund

For FY2027, DBM consolidated the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) into a single purpose and proposed PHP 55.87 billion for performance bonuses, personnel costs to fill vacancies, other personal benefits, staffing changes and salary upgrades, faculty-position reclassification in state universities and colleges, and the Legal Defense Fund. The FY2026 NEP proposed PHP 111.52 billion, reduced by PHP 34.47 billion to PHP 77.05 billion in the GAA. By the third quarter, FY2026 releases were PHP 23.85 billion and the balance PHP 53.2 billion; expected fourth-quarter uses included about PHP 27.2 billion for performance bonuses and PHP 12.86 billion for personnel-cost deficiencies. PHP 198.35 million remained in continuing appropriations for the Legal Defense Fund.

[00:32:42 · asr-000585](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000585) · [00:32:44 · asr-000586](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000586) · [00:33:14 · asr-000601](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000601) · [00:33:16 · asr-000602](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000602) · [00:33:17 · asr-000603](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000603) · [00:33:20 · asr-000604](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000604) · [00:33:21 · asr-000605](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000605) · [00:33:30 · asr-000609](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000609) · [00:33:31 · asr-000610](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000610) · [00:33:33 · asr-000611](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000611) · [00:33:36 · asr-000612](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000612) · [00:33:45 · asr-000617](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000617) · [00:33:48 · asr-000618](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000618) · [00:33:51 · asr-000620](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000620) · [00:33:59 · asr-000624](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000624)

### Disaster risk reduction and management

DBM proposed PHP 45.67 billion for FY2027 for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF), PHP 5.85 billion above the FY2026 allocation of PHP 39.82 billion. Proposed uses are PHP 30 billion for disaster-risk reduction, mitigation, prevention, preparedness, relief, recovery and reconstruction; PHP 1 billion for LGU and community adaptation projects under the People's Survival Fund; and PHP 14.67 billion for LGU disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction. By the end of FY2026's third quarter, allotment releases totaled PHP 17.30 billion from the current-year GAA: PHP 1.08 billion for the regular program and PHP 16.22 billion for agencies' quick-response-fund replenishment. The remaining balance was reported as PHP 22.84 billion, including PHP 22.52 billion under the current GAA; the continuing-appropriation component was stated with an inconsistent unit.

[00:34:11 · asr-000630](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000630) · [00:34:17 · asr-000633](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000633) · [00:34:21 · asr-000635](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000635) · [00:34:42 · asr-000645](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000645) · [00:34:50 · asr-000649](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000649) · [00:35:01 · asr-000655](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000655) · [00:35:11 · asr-000660](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000660) · [00:35:17 · asr-000663](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000663) · [00:35:22 · asr-000665](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000665) · [00:35:28 · asr-000668](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000668) · [00:35:29 · asr-000669](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000669) · [00:35:31 · asr-000670](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000670) · [00:35:19 · asr-000664](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000664) · [00:35:16 · asr-000662](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000662)

### Pension and gratuity requirements

The opening fund list gave PHP 180.27 billion; the detailed discussion rounded this to PHP 180 billion for FY2027 for the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF), covering retired-government claims; civilian and military and uniformed personnel pensions; retirement, terminal-leave and separation benefits; incentives; and leave-credit monetization. The proposal is PHP 14.75 billion above the FY2026 level of PHP 165.52 billion and was based on agency submissions on optional retirees, military and uniformed pensions, and potential government-optimization reform separation and retirement-gratuity and terminal-leave deficiencies. By the third quarter, DBM had released PHP 145.94 billion, or 88.2% of FY2026 PGF. The remaining PHP 19.58 billion was expected to cover terminal leave, pensions and leave-credit monetization; PHP 13 million remained for personnel requirements devolved to LGUs.

[00:35:53 · asr-000681](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000681) · [00:36:13 · asr-000691](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000691) · [00:36:16 · asr-000692](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000692) · [00:36:17 · asr-000693](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000693) · [00:36:20 · asr-000694](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000694) · [00:36:43 · asr-000706](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000706) · [00:36:45 · asr-000707](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000707) · [00:36:53 · asr-000711](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000711) · [00:36:55 · asr-000712](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000712) · [00:37:13 · asr-000721](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000721) · [00:19:57 · asr-000257](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000257)

### Revised AFP modernization program

DBM proposed PHP 50 billion for FY2027 under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP), PHP 10 billion above the current-year level of PHP 40 billion, for acquisition and upgrading of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) equipment and systems. By the third quarter of FY2026, releases totaled PHP 34.13 billion, including PHP 33.79 billion from the current-year appropriation and PHP 143 million from continuing 2025 appropriations. The available balance was PHP 6.209 billion, comprising PHP 6.205 billion from FY2026 and PHP 3.56 million from FY2025.

[00:37:25 · asr-000727](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000727) · [00:37:29 · asr-000729](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000729) · [00:37:31 · asr-000730](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000730) · [00:37:45 · asr-000737](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000737) · [00:37:47 · asr-000738](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000738) · [00:37:49 · asr-000739](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000739) · [00:37:53 · asr-000741](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000741) · [00:38:01 · asr-000745](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000745) · [00:38:04 · asr-000746](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000746) · [00:38:06 · asr-000747](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000747) · [00:38:07 · asr-000748](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000748) · [00:38:10 · asr-000749](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000749) · [00:37:51 · asr-000740](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000740)

### Unprogrammed Appropriations

DBM described Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) as authority for additional agency obligations for priority programs when revenue collections exceed targets or additional grants or foreign funds become available. The presentation first gave a FY2027 UA amount of PHP 118.98 billion, then described PHP 111.98 billion as the proposed level, equal to 1.56% of the PHP 7.2 trillion proposed budget. Listed components were partial restoration of Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) fund balances, for which PHP 67 billion and then PHP 57 billion were spoken without a clear reconciliation, conversion of national-government advances into GOCC subsidies at PHP 8.83 billion, pipeline foreign-assisted projects at PHP 42.59 billion, and a risk-management program at PHP 3.6 billion. New risk-management guidelines were to be developed by the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines with the Interagency Technical Working Group on Contingent Liabilities and approved by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

The proposed UA level was described as down PHP 38.92 billion or 25.79% from the current-year level, net of presidential vetoes. At the end of FY2026's third quarter, releases were PHP 129 billion, or 85.51%, leaving PHP 21.87 billion. DBM said the proposal was the lowest nominal level since 2019 and the lowest share of the expenditure program since 1991.

[00:38:17 · asr-000753](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000753) · [00:38:19 · asr-000754](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000754) · [00:38:38 · asr-000763](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000763) · [00:38:40 · asr-000764](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000764) · [00:38:43 · asr-000766](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000766) · [00:38:47 · asr-000768](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000768) · [00:38:49 · asr-000769](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000769) · [00:39:00 · asr-000775](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000775) · [00:39:02 · asr-000776](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000776) · [00:39:09 · asr-000779](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000779) · [00:39:11 · asr-000780](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000780) · [00:39:17 · asr-000783](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000783) · [00:39:20 · asr-000784](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000784) · [00:39:22 · asr-000786](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000786) · [00:39:45 · asr-000797](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000797) · [00:39:48 · asr-000798](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000798) · [00:39:49 · asr-000799](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000799) · [00:40:03 · asr-000806](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000806) · [00:40:05 · asr-000807](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000807) · [00:40:09 · asr-000809](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000809)

### NEP-stage priorities and restoration concerns

Before MMDA's presentation, Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito clarified that the figures under discussion were at the NEP stage, not the House version of the budget. He raised concerns about foreign-assisted projects and said some funding, especially loan proceeds and government counterpart funds that had been moved into unprogrammed appropriations in FY 2024 and FY 2025, should be restored to avoid further delays. He described these as obligations tied to legacy and nation-building projects that should be prioritized rather than divided among other uses. He said the committee was not ready to discuss some concerns and that House counterparts had explained some others. He emphasized legacy projects and services such as health, then called on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to present.

[00:40:52 · asr-000830](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000830) · [00:41:08 · asr-000838](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000838) · [00:41:26 · asr-000848](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000848) · [00:41:40 · asr-000855](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000855) · [00:42:27 · asr-000880](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000880)

### Local assistance increase and implementation

Senator Imee R. Marcos challenged the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), including Financial Assistance to Local Government Units (FALGU), administered by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and its elevated level after congressional increases. She recalled an original proposal of ₱5 billion, a ₱41.845 billion House increase in the FY2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) process, and enactment at PHP 37.493 billion in the FY2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA); she described PHP 32.493 billion of increase over the NEP as retained for FY2027. Acting DBM Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said requests from local government leagues and the President's Bawat Bayan Makikinabang program drove the increase. He said it was the first FALGU year in which all municipalities, cities and provinces received allocations, including for rice distribution, and that DBM carried the same policy into FY2027.

Marcos questioned that rationale against the reported rollout. As of August 15, she cited ₱1.606 billion obligated, described as 4.3% of the FY2026 appropriation, and low disbursement; she said implementation remained low despite the increase. De Leon acknowledged the figures, saying they may come from Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) monitoring based on local government unit (LGU) reports in the Subay Bayan portal. Marcos said DBM had also supplied the figure. She asked for projects and recipient LGUs under the 2025 and 2027 FALGU appropriations and measures to prevent another backlog before plenary; De Leon instead committed to furnish the 2025 and 2026 recipient lists to the committee and her office.

[00:45:54 · asr-000966](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000966) · [00:45:59 · asr-000967](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000967) · [00:46:12 · asr-000968](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000968) · [00:46:59 · asr-000975](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000975) · [00:47:36 · asr-000980](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000980) · [00:47:59 · asr-000984](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000984) · [00:48:18 · asr-000987](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000987) · [00:48:36 · asr-000989](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000989) · [00:49:53 · asr-001007](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001007) · [00:50:04 · asr-001010](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001010) · [00:51:30 · asr-001035](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001035) · [00:51:45 · asr-001037](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001037)

### LGSF rice distribution and release accounting

Marcos returned to the low implementation question. De Leon said almost half of the appropriation went to the rice distribution program under the LGSF and Bawat Bayan Makikinabang; Marcos questioned the multiple rice programs and asked how much the LGSF program cost. De Leon said it provided a free rice allocation for the bottom 25% of the population. Marcos asked for the LGSF program cost; De Leon did not give the total cost, but as of October 15 he reported ₱22.96 billion released to LGUs for distribution. Marcos asked whether this was separate from the Department of Agriculture's (DA) Rice for All and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) programs; De Leon said the LGSF funds were released directly to LGUs.

When asked how much was already spent, De Leon explained that DBM's national accounts record the transfer to LGUs as both obligated and disbursed. He distinguished that accounting treatment from whether LGUs had themselves obligated or spent the funds, and identified Marcos's earlier 4.3 figure as aggregate LGU implementation. Marcos maintained that the execution figure remained low and questioned the increase.

[00:55:02 · asr-001080](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001080) · [00:55:05 · asr-001081](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001081) · [00:55:37 · asr-001089](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001089) · [00:56:08 · asr-001098](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001098) · [00:56:28 · asr-001107](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001107) · [00:56:35 · asr-001109](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001109)

### Supreme Court ruling and pending 2024–2025 appropriations

Marcos asked how DBM interpreted the Supreme Court decision declaring portions of the 2024 and 2025 budget unconstitutional: whether the ruling reached the entire GAAs or only the identified congressional increases, and whether unspent amounts could still be released. De Leon said DBM's executive committee was reviewing the legal, fiscal, technical and operational effects and would seek Supreme Court clarification with the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). He said the 2025 GAA remained a continuing appropriation into 2026, while DBM was inventorying unreleased appropriations, unobligated allotments and unpaid obligations with OSG.

Marcos cited ₱449.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations and a separate Special Road Fund item as congressional insertions that should be held pending clarity. De Leon said DBM had not yet decided the next steps, but confirmed that the 2025 Special Road Fund increase covered by the decision remained unreleased. He said the unreleased balance of 2024 unprogrammed appropriations would no longer be released because its authority expired on December 31, 2025. When asked for the 2024 total released and how much was attributable to the increase cited by the Court, he gave ₱531.374 billion as the total released from 2024 unprogrammed appropriations, but said the amount attributable to that increase still needed to be matched and reported. Marcos asked for a disaggregation of the affected fund and increase before plenary.

[00:57:42 · asr-001128](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001128) · [00:57:48 · asr-001129](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001129) · [00:57:57 · asr-001132](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001132) · [00:58:13 · asr-001136](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001136) · [00:58:23 · asr-001139](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001139) · [00:58:42 · asr-001143](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001143) · [00:58:47 · asr-001144](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001144) · [00:59:13 · asr-001151](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001151) · [00:59:27 · asr-001159](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001159) · [00:59:53 · asr-001169](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001169) · [01:00:21 · asr-001181](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001181) · [01:00:24 · asr-001182](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001182) · [01:00:37 · asr-001188](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001188) · [01:00:55 · asr-001197](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001197) · [01:01:01 · asr-001200](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001200) · [01:01:11 · asr-001204](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001204) · [01:01:13 · asr-001205](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001205) · [01:02:15 · asr-001234](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001234) · [01:02:19 · asr-001235](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001235) · [01:02:25 · asr-001239](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001239) · [01:02:27 · asr-001240](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001240) · [01:03:15 · asr-001262](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001262) · [01:03:21 · asr-001265](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001265) · [01:03:25 · asr-001267](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001267)

### Unprogrammed appropriation triggers, audit findings and safeguards

Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito asked DBM to confirm the cited infrastructure-assistance allocations for the 2024 and 2025 GAAs. De Leon confirmed ₱225.376 billion for 2024 and ₱160.122 billion for 2025. Marcos then cited a Commission on Audit (COA) qualified finding that 2024 special allotment release orders (SAROs) totaled ₱394.156 billion and exceeded Treasury-certified excess revenues and government-owned or -controlled corporation (GOCC) fund balances by ₱17.093 billion. She asked who verified funding availability and who authorized the releases.

De Leon said unprogrammed releases were triggered by foreign-assisted project loan proceeds or conversion of GOCC advances to subsidies; he said a Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) certification was not required for the former, while excess-revenue releases were supported by BTr certifications. DBM still approved the SAROs and said it followed the GAA triggers. Marcos said this did not answer COA's finding and asked for a release-by-release reconciliation listing each funding source, required certification or SARO, approving authority, recipient and purpose. De Leon committed to send the reconciliation to her office and said it would compare releases against BTr and Bureau of Customs certifications.

Marcos also asked what safeguards would prevent premature or unsupported releases, referring to a reported percentage practice. De Leon said DBM now checks how agencies use their GAA allocations before considering augmentation from unprogrammed appropriations or other sources, and said DBM supported limiting the unprogrammed component in the proposed FY2027 budget. He said FY2026 had no excess-revenue-triggered unprogrammed release to date and that its releases were loan proceeds for foreign-assisted projects; Marcos requested a list, and De Leon agreed to furnish it.

The exchange later returned to foreign-assisted-project releases: Marcos contrasted ₱120.11 billion released by the end of August with the ₱97.3 billion amount she cited and asked DBM to reconcile the ₱22.805 billion difference. De Leon attributed the difference to Special Provision 5, which he said authorized DBM to shift amounts between unprogrammed-appropriation purposes when one purpose had a deficiency, within the overall ceiling. He said reduced loan-proceeds components for some 2024 and 2025 foreign-assisted projects led to the shift. Marcos questioned that broad authority and asked whether the funds came from continuing appropriations or another authority; De Leon said they came from the same unprogrammed appropriations under that provision. He assured the committee that foreign-assistance contractors were paid directly by development institutions under a direct-financing scheme, so checks would not bounce. Marcos asked DBM to consider amending the broad provision and to report utilization by each unprogrammed purpose instead of a single overall release figure. De Leon agreed to furnish detailed utilization of unprogrammed appropriations.

[01:04:00 · asr-001285](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001285) · [01:04:18 · asr-001293](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001293) · [01:04:45 · asr-001306](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001306) · [01:04:47 · asr-001307](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001307) · [01:04:57 · asr-001312](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001312) · [01:05:00 · asr-001313](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001313) · [01:05:59 · asr-001343](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001343) · [01:06:08 · asr-001347](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001347) · [01:07:55 · asr-001407](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001407) · [01:07:56 · asr-001408](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001408) · [01:08:51 · asr-001437](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001437) · [01:09:00 · asr-001444](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001444) · [01:09:08 · asr-001450](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001450) · [01:09:14 · asr-001455](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001455) · [01:09:16 · asr-001457](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001457) · [01:09:26 · asr-001464](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001464) · [01:09:34 · asr-001468](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001468) · [01:10:52 · asr-001529](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001529) · [01:10:54 · asr-001532](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001532) · [01:11:32 · asr-001558](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001558) · [01:11:36 · asr-001559](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001559) · [01:11:42 · asr-001562](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001562) · [01:12:00 · asr-001574](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001574) · [01:12:13 · asr-001585](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001585) · [01:12:25 · asr-001596](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001596) · [01:12:27 · asr-001598](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001598) · [01:12:38 · asr-001605](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001605) · [01:12:45 · asr-001612](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001612) · [01:12:53 · asr-001621](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001621) · [01:13:04 · asr-001629](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001629) · [01:13:06 · asr-001631](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001631) · [01:13:24 · asr-001653](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001653) · [01:13:29 · asr-001659](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001659) · [01:13:52 · asr-001682](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001682) · [01:13:56 · asr-001687](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001687) · [01:14:03 · asr-001695](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001695) · [01:14:52 · asr-001727](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001727) · [01:15:08 · asr-001737](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001737)

### Unprogrammed funding, comparisons and release triggers

Senator Sherwin “Win” T. Gatchalian asked Acting Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon how the Supreme Court ruling should shape the FY2027 budget. De Leon said SAGIP was absent from the FY2027 Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) and that the Executive was not releasing FY2026 funds under special provisions 1A and 1B; only foreign-assisted projects (FAPs) had been released from the UA so far.

Gatchalian said Congress must keep total programmed and unprogrammed appropriations within the President’s National Expenditure Program (NEP) proposal. He contrasted the UA proposals and enacted totals: about PHP 281 billion versus PHP 731 billion in 2024, PHP 158 billion versus PHP 363 billion in 2025, and PHP 249 billion versus PHP 150 billion in 2026. He argued that invalidating triggers 1A and 1B would leave FAPs as the remaining UA basis, and referred to the FY2027 UA as PHP 111 billion, including a PHP 42 billion foreign-assisted-project amount. De Leon gave a preliminary alternative reading: excess should be measured against total revenue targets rather than any one revenue item; an excess might still trigger UA, subject to legal clarification. Gatchalian said the Senate would remove 1A and 1B and work with DBM on a replacement provision. De Leon committed to work with Congress to fine-tune the language in line with the ruling.

[01:20:02 · asr-001784](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001784) · [01:20:41 · asr-001789](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001789) · [01:24:33 · asr-001890](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001890) · [01:24:48 · asr-001891](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001891) · [01:24:57 · asr-001892](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001892) · [01:25:03 · asr-001893](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001893) · [01:26:14 · asr-001902](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001902) · [01:28:00 · asr-001920](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001920) · [01:28:30 · asr-001928](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001928) · [01:29:32 · asr-001941](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001941) · [01:32:37 · asr-002129](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002129) · [01:32:48 · asr-002139](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002139) · [01:33:01 · asr-002152](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002152)

### LGSF funding and governance safeguards

Gatchalian turned to the enlarged Local Government Support Fund (LGSF). He asked how DBM made allocations transparent, rational and merit-based rather than arbitrary or a pork barrel.

De Leon said provinces, cities and municipalities seeking the fund’s FALGU allocation had to complete a public financial management (PFM) assessment report and improvement plan through DBM regional offices. He said some local government units (LGUs) received their Bawat Bayan Makikinabang RISE Program allocation late while meeting the good-financial-housekeeping requirements. He distinguished DBM’s PFM assessment from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) governance seal. Senator Imee R. Marcos asked what grounded the assessment; De Leon described a DBM scorecard and a tool rolled out and monitored by regional offices. Gatchalian and Marcos asked whether it duplicated DILG measures and urged streamlining. De Leon said 2026 recipients submitted the PFM report and improvement plan, but clarified that the tool has no compliance metric: it establishes a benchmark and an improvement direction. He listed seven pillars: budget reliability; transparency of public finances; asset and liability management; fiscal strategy and budgeting; predictability and control in execution; accounting and reporting; and external scrutiny and audit.

Marcos cited about 30%, first calling it disbursement and then correcting herself to obligations, for the PFM-related item she understood DBM to be reviewing. De Leon clarified that the review concerned one PFM component, the Budget Treasury Management System (BTMS), and distinguished that IT platform from PFM as a set of principles. Gatchalian said the fund should reward sound financial housekeeping and avoid political allocation; De Leon agreed to work with Congress on changes to governance conditions. Gatchalian asked DBM to improve the criteria, and Ejercito supported the fund if distribution and performance criteria were fair.

[01:40:37 · asr-002674](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002674) · [01:41:03 · asr-002700](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002700) · [01:42:00 · asr-002764](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002764) · [01:42:08 · asr-002770](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002770) · [01:42:40 · asr-002797](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002797) · [01:42:47 · asr-002802](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002802) · [01:42:56 · asr-002812](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002812) · [01:44:32 · asr-002885](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002885) · [01:44:49 · asr-002897](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002897) · [01:45:16 · asr-002913](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002913) · [01:45:21 · asr-002914](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002914) · [01:45:59 · asr-002925](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002925) · [01:46:04 · asr-002926](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002926) · [01:46:06 · asr-002927](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002927) · [01:46:16 · asr-002929](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002929) · [01:46:56 · asr-002938](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002938) · [01:47:25 · asr-002944](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002944) · [01:47:57 · asr-002949](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002949) · [01:48:42 · asr-002957](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002957)

### NTF-ELCAC barangay development assistance

Gatchalian asked about the Barangay Development Program (BDP) administered through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Gatchalian recalled PHP 8 billion allocations in each of the prior two years and said the earlier amount covered 800 barangays; Director for Planning and Production Alexander S. Umpar said funding varies, then confirmed the 2027 target of about 1,948 barangays.

Acting Secretary De Leon said eligible communities must already be certified as cleared, and assistance is meant to support economic activity and access to government services. He described a one-time allocation per barangay, a universe of 9,588 cleared barangays and 2,001 remaining after the FY2027 proposal. Umpar confirmed the one-time design, subject to the yearly budget. De Leon projected that the remaining barangays could be covered by 2028 and that the program could then be complete; his understanding was that there would be no further LGSF allocation for this purpose, while other agencies could still address needs. Gatchalian said he would hold DBM to 2028 as the last year.

Umpar recalled BDP amounts of PHP 20 million in 2021, PHP 4 million in 2022 and PHP 6 million in 2023. For FY2027, he said PHP 5 million was earmarked for about 1,948 barangays; De Leon confirmed PHP 5 million per barangay for that year and said the amount varies with the available budget. Gatchalian described the assistance as socioeconomic support for cleared communities to become economically viable. Participants also discussed annual coverage of 1,000 to 2,000 barangays depending on the budget.

[01:49:37 · asr-002966](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002966) · [01:49:46 · asr-002968](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002968) · [01:49:52 · asr-002969](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002969) · [01:49:55 · asr-002971](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002971) · [01:49:57 · asr-002974](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002974) · [01:50:08 · asr-002977](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002977) · [01:50:32 · asr-002982](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002982) · [01:51:40 · asr-002998](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002998) · [01:51:51 · asr-003002](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003002) · [01:52:02 · asr-003006](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003006) · [01:52:07 · asr-003007](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003007) · [01:52:28 · asr-003012](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003012) · [01:52:38 · asr-003017](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003017) · [01:53:05 · asr-003026](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003026) · [01:53:35 · asr-003033](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003033) · [01:54:25 · asr-003047](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003047) · [01:54:32 · asr-003048](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003048) · [01:54:35 · asr-003049](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003049) · [01:54:37 · asr-003050](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003050) · [01:55:09 · asr-003056](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003056) · [01:55:11 · asr-003057](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003057)

### Proposed program consolidation

Gatchalian proposed placing the LGSF barangay-development assistance under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) so peace and reconciliation programs could be handled through one agency, and asked DBM to examine a merger as part of the government’s optimization effort. De Leon said the Senate should decide whether the item belonged under OPAPRU, described NTF-ELCAC as a whole-of-government task force, and said DBM administers it as a special purpose fund. No transfer decision was recorded. Gatchalian also asked about Green-Green-Green; he said it had been integrated into regular FALGU and its separate account removed in 2026 because park construction was outside DBM’s mandate.

[01:55:39 · asr-003061](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003061) · [01:55:55 · asr-003066](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003066) · [01:56:13 · asr-003068](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003068) · [01:56:25 · asr-003070](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003070) · [01:56:36 · asr-003075](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003075) · [01:56:42 · asr-003077](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003077) · [01:56:55 · asr-003079](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003079) · [01:57:02 · asr-003080](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003080) · [01:57:13 · asr-003082](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003082)

### 2026 unprogrammed appropriations and the Supreme Court ruling

Senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan recounted a discussion with a Supreme Court justice about the doctrine of operative fact for the 2024 and 2025 budgets. He asked for clarification about funds already spent in 2026, saying the ruling contained no categorical statement on that year. He then asked Acting Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon whether any of the ₱150 billion in 2026 unprogrammed appropriations had been released. De Leon said no charge had been released against Sections 1A and 1B; only foreign-assisted appropriations had been released from the unprogrammed fund. Pangilinan thanked him for the clarification. The answer addressed release status, not the legal treatment of funds already spent in 2026.

[01:58:16 · asr-003089](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003089) · [01:59:19 · asr-003099](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003099) · [01:59:24 · asr-003100](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003100) · [01:59:30 · asr-003101](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003101)

### Livestock disease indemnities

Pangilinan said the Department of Agriculture (DA) had reported unpaid indemnities of ₱58.17 million for African swine fever (ASF) and ₱336.9 million for avian influenza. He said DBM recommended seeking the President’s approval to release ₱7.16 million from the Contingency Fund and ₱329 million from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund for those payments. Asked whether the recommendation had reached the President, De Leon said DBM had formally communicated it. He said he would follow up with the Office of the Executive Secretary after the hearing to facilitate allotments to DA for payment to farmers; approval and release were not reported as complete. Pangilinan said he would monitor the matter and raise it again at plenary, noting that pig farmers were facing farmgate prices below their cost of production and that indemnities would help them.

[02:00:18 · asr-003115](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003115) · [02:00:39 · asr-003116](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003116) · [02:00:48 · asr-003117](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003117) · [02:01:10 · asr-003119](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003119) · [02:01:18 · asr-003121](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003121)

### El Niño response and disaster funds

Pangilinan said five regions had reported about ₱7 billion in El Niño losses and asked whether DBM would support a state of calamity and whether national funds were available. De Leon said a presidential declaration could unlock national resources and local disaster risk funds, and DBM would guide agencies in using available funding. He said agencies had identified portions of their own budgets for El Niño preparation and response: about ₱112 billion remained for the rest of FY 2026 under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), with another ₱104 billion in the FY 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP). Those identified agency amounts excluded local disaster funds that could be accessed after a declaration. Even without a national declaration, he said local governments that had declared calamity could already use their local funds. Pangilinan listed local declarations in Regions 2 and 5, CALABARZON, SOCCSKSARGEN and Caraga.

De Leon corrected Pangilinan's restatement of the 2026 amount to PHP 112 billion and said it included PHP 39 billion in the disaster fund. Pangilinan said the country was in the last quarter and that a declaration could be made with funds available for support.

[02:02:09 · asr-003125](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003125) · [02:02:28 · asr-003128](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003128) · [02:02:45 · asr-003129](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003129) · [02:03:39 · asr-003137](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003137) · [02:03:48 · asr-003138](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003138) · [02:03:54 · asr-003139](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003139) · [02:04:57 · asr-003155](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003155)

### Anti-Agri-Economic Sabotage Council staffing and funding

Pangilinan said PHP 500 million had initially been provided under Republic Act No. 12022 to establish the Anti-Agri-Economic Sabotage Council (AAES). He cited PHP 35.744 million identified under the OPSF 2025 Presidential Oversight Program, unobligated as of August 27, 2026 but available for obligation through December 31, and asked whether it came from the initial amount. He said a deputy executive secretary had told him the council needed more staff and that this funding would not be enough.

Acting Secretary De Leon replied that DBM had approved AAES's request to establish a permanent secretariat and had issued the necessary approval to the Office of the President (OP), which was organizing it. He said salaries would usually be funded through the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF), with additional allotments to be released after positions were filled. He described these allotments as over and above the PHP 35.74 million, which he said was part of the OP's regular operating budget. The response did not explicitly clarify whether the PHP 35.744 million came from the original PHP 500 million.

[02:05:54 · asr-003174](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003174) · [02:06:02 · asr-003175](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003175) · [02:06:11 · asr-003176](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003176) · [02:06:20 · asr-003179](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003179) · [02:06:24 · asr-003181](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003181) · [02:06:51 · asr-003185](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003185) · [02:06:57 · asr-003187](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003187) · [02:07:13 · asr-003189](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003189) · [02:07:18 · asr-003193](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003193) · [02:07:22 · asr-003194](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003194) · [02:07:28 · asr-003195](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003195) · [02:07:35 · asr-003197](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003197)

### Participatory budgeting through the Local Government Support Fund

Pangilinan asked whether DBM was considering a return to bottom-up budgeting. De Leon pointed to the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) subprogram Support for Participatory Budgeting, which he said had ₱1 billion out of the total LGSF. He said it was intended to encourage public and civil-society participation in budgeting and that, for 2027, DBM planned to use it to incentivize local governments active in the Open Government Partnership, following a similar concept. Pangilinan asked for material on the program and said he would consider whether more funding was needed; De Leon agreed to provide information.

[02:09:32 · asr-003228](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003228) · [02:09:51 · asr-003232](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003232) · [02:10:01 · asr-003234](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003234) · [02:10:03 · asr-003235](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003235) · [02:10:15 · asr-003237](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003237) · [02:10:26 · asr-003240](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003240) · [02:10:32 · asr-003241](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003241)

### Sagip Saka, direct rice purchases and LGSF monitoring

Pangilinan returned to a ₱23 billion rice allocation and said the memorandum circular encouraged Sagip Saka direct purchasing, but did not prohibit LGUs from buying imported rice. De Leon initially said DBM was verifying whether the circular expressly prohibited imports; Pangilinan clarified that it did not and that it only encouraged direct purchases under Sagip Saka, which De Leon acknowledged.

As an example, Pangilinan cited Quezon City, whose mayor had told him the city bought more than ₱200 million worth of rice directly from a farmers’ and fisherfolk cooperative using LGSF. He reported that ordinary bidding would have cost about ₱15 more per kilo: the city paid ₱50 per kilo through the cooperative, compared with about ₱65 per kilo through public bidding. Pangilinan said the direct purchase saved over ₱100 million in LGSF funds and estimated that proper implementation could extend the fund by 30%. He also cited sales of ₱52 million worth of rice by the PIDIG Multipurpose Cooperative and about ₱68 million by San Peregrina as local benefits.

Asked how the program was overseen, De Leon said DBM was working with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to monitor implementation, with DILG sending reports to DBM on LGSF status. Pangilinan asked for supporting documents and an implementation report before plenary; no response to that request appears in this unit.

[02:10:38 · asr-003244](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003244) · [02:10:53 · asr-003249](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003249) · [02:10:57 · asr-003250](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003250) · [02:11:34 · asr-003262](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003262) · [02:11:45 · asr-003266](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003266) · [02:11:53 · asr-003270](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003270) · [02:12:01 · asr-003272](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003272) · [02:12:09 · asr-003274](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003274) · [02:12:20 · asr-003281](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003281) · [02:12:27 · asr-003282](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003282) · [02:12:34 · asr-003285](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003285) · [02:12:36 · asr-003286](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003286) · [02:12:40 · asr-003287](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003287) · [02:13:13 · asr-003299](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003299) · [02:13:23 · asr-003302](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003302) · [02:13:38 · asr-003308](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003308) · [02:13:48 · asr-003312](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003312) · [02:14:00 · asr-003316](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003316) · [02:14:45 · asr-003333](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003333) · [02:14:52 · asr-003335](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003335) · [02:13:41 · asr-003309](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003309) · [02:11:47 · asr-003267](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003267)

### Calamity and pension funding reductions

Ejercito said the House version reduced the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund by ₱9.5 billion and the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF) by ₱10 billion. He asked whether disaster-response resources would remain adequate under severe El Niño and typhoon scenarios, and whether DBM could estimate added needs under moderate and severe El Niño. De Leon said a reduction would leave less for disaster response, although a shift into a direct program for farmers and fisherfolk could reach its intended group faster. He said a lower PGF would tighten funds for retirees: regular and mandatory retirement claims would take priority, while optional-retirement claims and leave-credit monetization could be delayed.

Asked whether past budget shortfalls had deferred claims and how many retirees were affected, De Leon said he was checking the figures. He noted that the 2024 and 2025 unprogrammed appropriations included personal-benefit entries used to address shortfalls in the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) and PGF, but gave no count of affected retirees or scenario-specific disaster estimate.

[02:27:12 · asr-003702](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003702) · [02:27:22 · asr-003707](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003707) · [02:27:24 · asr-003708](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003708) · [02:28:23 · asr-003736](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003736) · [02:29:12 · asr-003762](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003762) · [02:30:08 · asr-003790](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003790) · [02:30:24 · asr-003799](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003799)

### Foreign-assisted project funding and restoration request

Ejercito raised the House version's ₱130 billion reduction for foreign-assisted projects, particularly loan proceeds and government counterpart funding. He said he planned to meet with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and DPWH to establish minimum needs and asked DBM to support restoring at least the loan proceeds and counterpart amounts in the Senate version, citing commitment fees and delays to major rail projects. He said the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and Metro Manila Subway had shifted from a 2028 completion target to 2032.

De Leon said the Executive had recommended the funding to accelerate projects it had committed to development partners and the public. He said a reduction would limit agencies' ability to speed implementation, and that unprogrammed appropriations had been used to cover shortfalls in foreign-assisted project loan proceeds. He noted the Supreme Court decision could affect what remained available, and urged Congress to support completion of priority infrastructure projects across DOTr, DPWH and other agencies. The exchange contains no formal Senate disposition of Ejercito's restoration request.

[02:30:53 · asr-003811](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003811) · [02:31:15 · asr-003825](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003825) · [02:31:57 · asr-003853](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003853) · [02:32:39 · asr-003890](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003890) · [02:32:56 · asr-003904](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003904)

### LGSF aid, priority rules and duplicate assistance

Senator Imee R. Marcos asked how the large increase to the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), its financial-assistance item and seven programs beneath it would avoid becoming election-year ayuda ahead of 2028. She pointed to overlapping medical, burial, transport, food and education assistance, including programs of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of Transportation (DOTr), and asked what share of LGSF allocations was intended for direct aid. Acting Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon cited the guidelines’ menu of eligible items and said priority should go to projects with greater economic multiplier effects, such as infrastructure, local and farm-to-market roads, hospitals and water supply. Marcos said the listed aid items were prevalent and infrastructure was not the main use; De Leon replied that individual assistance was one authorized menu item. He did not quantify the share of allocations for direct aid.

Marcos warned that the same medical bill or burial expense could be paid by the LGSF, DSWD and another agency. De Leon said the guidelines cap assistance per local government, but Marcos observed that a cap does not prevent another agency from paying the same expense. De Leon agreed DBM could not check duplication at its level and said it was working with DSWD and the Department of Health (DOH) to streamline systems and prevent double-dipping.

Marcos questioned why indigent assistance sat under DBM rather than DSWD. De Leon said it was an authorized LGSF menu item and that DBM administered the fund; he would defer to Congress if it chose to place the line elsewhere. Marcos requested a list showing amounts, LGUs and assistance categories to assess concerns about politicized allocations. De Leon said the data could be downloaded through DBM Compass and offered to guide her office, while also committing to send a separate list. Marcos said the website lacked the detail she needed; De Leon again promised a separate submission.

[02:56:00 · asr-005166](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005166) · [02:57:17 · asr-005249](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005249) · [02:57:55 · asr-005295](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005295) · [02:58:18 · asr-005318](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005318) · [02:58:38 · asr-005351](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005351) · [02:59:00 · asr-005382](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005382) · [02:59:13 · asr-005402](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005402) · [02:59:30 · asr-005429](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005429) · [02:59:49 · asr-005451](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005451) · [03:00:00 · asr-005469](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005469) · [03:00:12 · asr-005473](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005473)

### Growth equity fund guidelines and 2027 implementation

Marcos said guidelines for 2025 were issued only in February 2026, covering both 2025 and 2026; obligations had reached 0.4% of the 2025 appropriation and 1.5% of the 2026 appropriation. She said late guidance and continuing requirements disadvantaged the fund’s intended recipients; De Leon identified them as fourth- and fifth-class LGUs. Marcos then asked what requirements would govern the proposed ₱10.3 billion for 2027. She warned implementation could remain below 1% if requirements continued to delay access.

De Leon acknowledged the late guidance and agreed the fund was intended for disadvantaged LGUs. He said the committee should not face the same delay in 2027. When Marcos asked whether the guidelines were ready, he said existing guidelines were in place but were the old ones. He said DBM could issue updated guidelines as early as January after the General Appropriations Act was passed, provided there were no substantial changes or new congressional mandates, and assured the committee they would be released by January once the Act passed.

[03:00:19 · asr-005476](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005476) · [03:01:31 · asr-005491](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005491) · [03:01:47 · asr-005495](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005495) · [03:02:26 · asr-005510](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005510) · [03:02:38 · asr-005517](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005517)

### NTF-ELCAC barangay development coverage

Marcos questioned expanding the NTF-ELCAC barangay development program while she said releases remained at 3.4%. De Leon said the proposed FY 2027 group of 1,948 barangays was a unique set from the universe provided by NTF-ELCAC, not the same barangays that had received funding earlier. Marcos asked for a list to clarify the coverage; the unit contains no response to that request.

[03:06:57 · asr-005644](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005644) · [03:07:39 · asr-005664](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005664) · [03:07:59 · asr-005674](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005674)

### Conditional PDIC restoration

Marcos asked about the FY 2027 NEP’s ₱57 billion for restoring the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), placed under unprogrammed appropriations, and noted that ₱104 billion had previously been remitted to the Treasury. She asked whether restoration would depend on excess or new revenue and argued that deposit-insurance guarantees should be programmed. De Leon said the restoration remained contingent on excess revenue and was held as a standby in unprogrammed appropriations pending a definitive restoration order. He said no definitive final order required the Executive to revert the funds; by comparison, he said DBM had complied with a definitive order for PhilHealth. The exchange left PDIC restoration conditional rather than approved for immediate release.

[03:08:03 · asr-005676](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005676) · [03:08:25 · asr-005687](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005687) · [03:08:39 · asr-005694](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005694) · [03:08:49 · asr-005699](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005699) · [03:08:59 · asr-005704](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005704) · [03:09:19 · asr-005714](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005714) · [03:09:34 · asr-005721](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005721)

### Sulu transition service continuity

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito asked Acting Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon how the transition would protect services in Sulu following its exit from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM); residents feared interruptions in education and health. He cited about PHP 2 billion for the Department of Health (DOH), describing it both as allotted and as needed to maintain services; the exchange did not settle its appropriation status. He said the amount for the Department of Education (DepEd) had not yet been determined, and asked how other departments and agencies could also avoid service interruptions.

De Leon said that during deliberations for the FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), Sulu transition operating requirements were a priority and, for most agencies, were included in their regular operating requirements. DBM had created positions to facilitate the transition, including 793 DOH positions for provincial and district hospitals and more than 5,000 DepEd teacher positions, to be funded from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) once filled. De Leon said the remaining item being worked out was the operating requirements for provincial and district hospitals, which remained an unticked item in the Sulu transition; DBM was exploring ways to prevent service interruptions.

[03:10:07 · asr-005738](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005738) · [03:10:29 · asr-005748](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005748) · [03:10:32 · asr-005749](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005749) · [03:11:08 · asr-005767](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005767) · [03:11:33 · asr-005780](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005780) · [03:11:44 · asr-005786](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005786) · [03:11:51 · asr-005789](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005789) · [03:11:54 · asr-005790](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005790)

### National Tax Allotment and devolution

Gatchalian cited a FY2027 National Tax Allotment (NTA) of PHP 1.3 trillion against the PHP 7.2 trillion proposed national budget and emphasized the growing transfer to local governments. De Leon said the NTA was growing faster than the budget; Gatchalian put NTA growth at about 11%. He linked that rising share to the need for local governments to assume responsive service functions.

[03:16:38 · asr-005895](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005895) · [03:16:43 · asr-005896](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005896) · [03:16:46 · asr-005897](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005897) · [03:21:45 · asr-005989](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005989) · [03:21:56 · asr-005996](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005996)

### Military pensions and projected PGF costs

Gatchalian asked about the military component of the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF), correcting his initial reference to the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) and noting that pensions are provided under the General Appropriations Act (GAA). De Leon said the FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) included PHP 154.208 billion attributable to military and uniformed personnel.

De Leon characterized annual growth as about 10%. He attributed pension increases to indexation when government base pay rises. Gatchalian said a sustainable military pension scheme required careful study, including possible recruitment effects, and asked DBM to submit a projected PGF including the military component. De Leon committed to submit it; no pension-system change was decided in this exchange.

[03:22:13 · asr-006004](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006004) · [03:22:45 · asr-006015](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006015) · [03:22:51 · asr-006016](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006016) · [03:22:58 · asr-006018](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006018) · [03:23:29 · asr-006032](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006032) · [03:23:40 · asr-006038](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006038) · [03:24:07 · asr-006052](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006052) · [03:24:17 · asr-006056](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006056)

## Metropolitan Manila Development Authority budget

### FY 2027 request, NEP allocation and prior-year comparison

The MMDA breakdown listed ₱82 million for personal services, ₱3.2 billion for maintenance and other operating expenses, and ₱3.2 billion for capital outlay. The listed components do not add to the stated total, and Artes gave no reconciliation.

Artes compared the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) budget of ₱6.783 billion with the following year's NEP proposal, reporting a ₱222 million decrease. A separate original submission to DBM was not supplied in this presentation.

[00:44:25 · asr-000939](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000939) · [00:44:27 · asr-000940](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000940) · [00:44:33 · asr-000943](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000943) · [00:44:37 · asr-000945](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000945) · [00:44:41 · asr-000947](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000947) · [00:44:44 · asr-000949](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000949) · [00:44:46 · asr-000950](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000950) · [00:44:53 · asr-000954](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000954) · [00:44:57 · asr-000956](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000956) · [00:45:00 · asr-000958](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000958)

### MMDA flood mitigation proposal and impounding sites

Ejercito said the FY2027 proposed expenditure program included ₱888.9 million for the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's (MMDA) Metro Manila Flood Control Program and ₱2.5 billion for flood-control projects under locally funded projects, with a stated total flood-mitigation allocation of ₱3.398 billion. He asked whether that total included the impounding facilities proposed earlier; MMDA Chairman Romando Artes said it did not. Artes said MMDA had identified 39 sites and that DBM had provided some Disaster Risk Management Fund support for rain-catchment facilities, but he requested additional funding, particularly for projects that could be built quickly without major infrastructure. The stated total differs from the sum of the two cited components; no reconciliation was supplied.

[02:37:01 · asr-004150](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004150) · [02:37:07 · asr-004156](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004156) · [02:37:14 · asr-004161](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004161) · [02:37:23 · asr-004173](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004173) · [02:37:51 · asr-004194](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004194) · [02:38:14 · asr-004216](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004216) · [02:38:48 · asr-004242](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004242)

### Dredging requests and river maintenance

Ejercito said many Metro Manila rivers and tributaries were heavily silted after a long dredging moratorium, and said the Senate had allotted ₱1 billion to the Department of Public Works and Highways for desilting and dredging. He asked whether MMDA had dredging funds; Artes said MMDA had requested them but had received none so far, and later agreed to coordinate a cost estimate. Artes said MMDA had dredged 71 waterways out of more than 270 and removed more than 12,000 cubic meters using its own equipment. He said deeper waterways, including the Pasig River, Manggahan Floodway and San Juan River, require specialized equipment. He identified additional heavily silted tributaries and said MMDA would coordinate with Ejercito's office on priority locations. He added that siltation returns quickly if dredging is not repeated for a year or two.

[02:45:08 · asr-004584](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004584) · [02:45:10 · asr-004586](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004586) · [02:45:17 · asr-004594](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004594) · [02:45:30 · asr-004605](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004605) · [02:45:46 · asr-004621](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004621) · [02:46:12 · asr-004646](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004646) · [02:53:23 · asr-005031](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005031) · [02:53:26 · asr-005034](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005034)

### Pumping station repairs and flood coordination

Ejercito cited a Commission on Audit (COA) finding that 28 of MMDA's 119 large-station pumps were unserviceable, under repair or due for replacement, and asked for their status. Artes said repairs at the cited Manila Bay stations were ongoing after funding was released in August, and committed to finish before the next rainy season. He said roughly 12 major pumping stations needed work, including Libertad, where the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was repairing four of six pumps. MMDA monitored the work and had discussed the division of responsibilities with DBM and the Executive Secretary: DPWH currently funds repairs to stations in MMDA's care, while the stated plan from 2028 was for MMDA to receive funding and undertake those repairs itself.

[02:48:17 · asr-004759](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004759) · [02:48:56 · asr-004796](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004796) · [02:49:02 · asr-004804](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004804) · [02:49:07 · asr-004808](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004808) · [02:49:16 · asr-004817](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004817) · [02:49:35 · asr-004829](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004829)

## Department of Budget and Management presentation

### Public financial management and institutional reforms

Acting DBM Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said the department applies to its own spending the fiscal discipline, resource allocation and efficient operations it expects across government. Assistant Secretary Dante de Chavez described the Budget, Treasury and Management System as a unified digital system integrating budget, treasury and financial-management information. He also cited the Program Convergence Budget Initiative, which uses digital technology and geotagging to align government programs and investments; the Philippine Open Government Partnership; the Public Financial Management Competency Programme; and the government optimization program for rationalization, streamlining and organizational strengthening.

[00:08:47 · asr-000031](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000031) · [00:16:40 · asr-000160](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000160) · [00:16:57 · asr-000170](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000170) · [00:17:16 · asr-000178](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000178) · [00:17:25 · asr-000183](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000183) · [00:17:34 · asr-000187](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000187)

### Performance targets and outcomes

The three-year performance slide reported FY2025 achievement levels ranging from 90.13% to 99.79%, most FY2026 targets achieved, and FY2027 targets aligned with strategic priorities and organizational outcomes.

[00:16:06 · asr-000143](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000143) · [00:16:14 · asr-000147](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000147) · [00:16:18 · asr-000149](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000149)

## Metropolitan Manila Development Authority presentation

### MMDA mandate and services

MMDA Chair Romando Artes said Republic Act No. 7924 assigns the agency planning, monitoring and coordinating functions, along with regulatory and supervisory authority over delivery of Metro-wide services. He listed development planning; solid-waste disposal and management; traffic and transport management; flood and sewerage control; urban renewal, zoning and land-use planning; shelter services; health and sanitation; urban protection and pollution control; and public safety.

[00:43:40 · asr-000917](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000917) · [00:43:57 · asr-000925](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000925)

## Opening priorities

### Opening priorities

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito opened the FY 2027 budget scrutiny by invoking a recent Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of provisions in previous and current General Appropriations Acts. He noted that the Court had not declared unprogrammed appropriations unconstitutional, while emphasizing its warning to Congress and the legislature’s duty to exercise fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability and keep appropriations within constitutional limits.

He asked what the Court’s decision meant for the FY 2027 national budget and what adjustments might be needed to avoid constitutional infirmities. He called for clearly defined uses, available funding, identified beneficiaries, and safeguards and accountability for public spending.

He framed the hearing as the final budget briefing before sponsorship of the proposed FY 2027 national budget, with the stated aim of passing a budget that meets basic needs, withstands constitutional scrutiny, reflects sound fiscal management and benefits the public. Senator Imee R. Marcos said she echoed his concerns and would ask questions later.

[00:03:30 · asr-000008](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000008) · [00:05:00 · asr-000011](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000011) · [00:06:30 · asr-000014](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000014) · [00:07:00 · asr-000015](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-000015)

## Senator Imee R. Marcos

### LGSF criteria and legal basis

Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito, chairing the exchange, asked DBM to explain its criteria for allocating LGSF support among local governments and to address concerns about favoritism. De Leon said he would share the release parameters and pointed to financial housekeeping, reporting compliance, coordination with DILG on proper use, Subay Bayan project-status information, and each LGU's prior physical and financial performance.

On the chair's concern that the fund was viewed as pork, De Leon cited the Supreme Court's ruling in Belgica versus Executive Secretariat, which he said upheld the LGSF's constitutionality under the 2014 GAA based on its single purpose of supporting local governments and its completeness and sufficiency. He said DBM remained willing to work with Congress on additional safeguards if needed.

[00:50:51 · asr-001026](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001026) · [00:51:50 · asr-001038](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001038) · [00:52:37 · asr-001045](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001045) · [00:53:26 · asr-001051](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001051)

### DBM vacancies and hiring update

Marcos cited the briefing’s report of 465 vacancies among 1,762 permanent positions across DBM, its Office of the Secretary (OSEC), and the Government Procurement Policy Board–Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO), a 26.4% vacancy rate. She asked how the vacancies affected guideline delays, budget evaluation and release monitoring, and why the positions remained unfilled. De Leon said DBM had amended internal HR guidelines to remove duplicative processes and speed hiring without lowering standards. He reported that appointments had been moving for two months, with the personnel board led by Assistant Secretary Dante de Chavez holding interviews nearly every week. He said retirements had taken time to replace and affected DBM’s capacity. The reported rate had already changed as appointments were signed; De Leon said he would provide the committee updated figures, but gave no revised count or rate in this exchange.

[03:03:00 · asr-005530](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005530) · [03:03:44 · asr-005544](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005544) · [03:04:18 · asr-005559](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005559) · [03:04:43 · asr-005573](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005573)

## Senator Sherwin "Win" T. Gatchalian

### Budget ceilings and legal clarification

Senator Imee R. Marcos asked whether the Court invalidated the entire FY2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or only UA provisions 1A and 1B. De Leon said the decision did not specifically declare the entire FY2026 GAA unconstitutional; his understanding was that it was limited to those UA provisions, unlike the earlier treatment of FY2024 and FY2025.

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito asked what amendments DBM recommended. De Leon said DBM was still seeking clarification, reviewing earlier versions of the provision, and offered to work with the committee. Gatchalian noted that removing the triggers could mean agencies would return to Congress for supplemental appropriations. De Leon called that a possible consequence and repeated that FY2026 releases had not been charged to 1A or 1B.

Gatchalian asked how the Court’s discussion of Administrative Code section 24, which he described as prohibiting increases to appropriations for any project or program, affected Congress’s ability to adjust individual items. De Leon said DBM was seeking clarification from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), and cited Sarmiento v. Treasurer of the Philippines as suggesting a ceiling at the total expenditure-program level. Gatchalian said the Senate would also consult the OSG and understood the ceiling to apply to the total presidential proposal while leaving room for project-level changes; De Leon said that matched budget-cycle practice. Both said they were still studying how the ruling and the Administrative Code apply. Gatchalian said the Senate intended to keep the budget constitutional and compliant.

[01:28:59 · asr-001934](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001934) · [01:29:23 · asr-001938](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001938) · [01:30:03 · asr-001981](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-001981) · [01:30:35 · asr-002010](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002010) · [01:31:37 · asr-002072](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002072) · [01:32:06 · asr-002099](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002099) · [01:33:59 · asr-002211](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002211) · [01:35:28 · asr-002326](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002326) · [01:36:27 · asr-002401](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002401) · [01:37:11 · asr-002453](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002453) · [01:37:34 · asr-002482](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-002482)

### Devolution schedule and fire-service proposals

De Leon said Executive Order No. 103 resumed full devolution. He corrected the extended transition dates to 2027 for cities and 2028 for provinces and municipalities. The implementing rules prioritize functions explicitly listed in the Local Government Code; additional functions in Annex B remain subject to the capacity of the local government unit concerned. De Leon cited possible mini-hydroelectric projects for provinces and cities, inter-municipal telecommunications for provinces, transportation facilities for provinces, cities and municipalities, and tourism facilities; he also mentioned agriculture, school buildings and local roads.

Gatchalian urged study of devolving fire response, pointing to existing local responsibilities for traffic enforcement and building inspection. He cited Valenzuela as an example where the city buys fire trucks while the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) supplies personnel, and said residents call the mayor during fires. De Leon said fire was already among Annex B’s suggested functions and noted that fire receives a share of fire-code-fee revenues; he said legislation could be considered. Gatchalian said he also had a proposal to devolve fire permits to local governments, which currently collect and remit the fees, arguing that local governments could be capacitated to handle the function. These were proposals for further study and legislation, not a recorded devolution decision.

[03:16:54 · asr-005898](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005898) · [03:16:57 · asr-005899](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005899) · [03:17:20 · asr-005904](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005904) · [03:17:30 · asr-005905](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005905) · [03:18:12 · asr-005910](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005910) · [03:18:43 · asr-005919](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005919) · [03:19:08 · asr-005925](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005925) · [03:20:22 · asr-005950](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005950) · [03:20:50 · asr-005965](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005965)

## Senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan

### Smuggling enforcement and council capacity

Explaining why he considered the council's staffing urgent, Pangilinan said two rice shipments from Vietnam seized the previous month were worth about PHP 700 million, while the threshold for non-bailable economic-sabotage treatment was PHP 10 million in agricultural products. He questioned why financiers were not being jailed or prosecuted despite large seizures and argued that the council needed capacity to address smuggling that harmed farmers and fisherfolk.

[02:08:06 · asr-003204](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003204) · [02:08:15 · asr-003206](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003206) · [02:08:51 · asr-003217](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003217)

## Senator Joseph Victor "JV" G. Ejercito

### Infrastructure vetting and project readiness

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito asked how the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) checks infrastructure proposals before they enter the National Expenditure Program (NEP), citing documentary requirements for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH): implementability certification, geotagged photographs with coordinates, master plans and regional or local development council certification. Acting DBM Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said DBM required those materials from DPWH before considering projects for the FY2027 NEP. He said the review identified possible duplicate or nonexistent projects and geotags pointing to other locations. For FY2028, he said DBM and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) had issued a joint circular encouraging agencies to submit projects through regional development councils and said DBM would give priority to council-endorsed proposals. He also called for updated master plans and multi-year programming so projects would not proceed piecemeal, and for implementation readiness and no local government objection to projects within an LGU's jurisdiction.

Ejercito said the Senate's preliminary portal review found about 10,145 projects, or 88.84%, without submitted supporting documents and 48 projects absent from the DPWH portal, and asked DBM to verify the findings. De Leon said DBM saw similar apparent gaps, but some files were nested in folders or bundled in large uploads; he said his team checked the portal and continued coordinating with DPWH after the NEP submission. DBM was also examining unit-cost analyses with DPWH to develop more reliable standard costs for later reviews. His reply described possible filing explanations but did not confirm the Senate's exact counts item by item.

[02:15:17 · asr-003345](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003345) · [02:16:12 · asr-003373](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003373) · [02:17:18 · asr-003406](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003406) · [02:18:07 · asr-003431](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003431) · [02:20:13 · asr-003494](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003494) · [02:20:54 · asr-003515](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003515) · [02:21:42 · asr-003539](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-003539)

### NCAP implementation and review safeguards

Ejercito asked how MMDA would support renewed implementation of the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) through clear road signs and markings, traffic-enforcer deployment and streetlight maintenance. He said the Supreme Court had lifted its temporary restraining order and that NCAP resumed on October 5. Artes said five local governments had recently begun implementing NCAP and that MMDA itself had reinstated its program May of the preceding year. He reported few complaints after more than a year, attributing this to changes in notices, manual review and a contest mechanism; he estimated fewer than 50 challenges and about 10 successful contests, mostly granted out of leniency. Artes committed to help other LGUs follow MMDA's system.

[02:53:46 · asr-005050](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005050) · [02:54:17 · asr-005076](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005076) · [02:54:45 · asr-005101](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005101) · [02:55:31 · asr-005138](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-005138)

### Water retention sites and coordinated flood solutions

Artes described cisterns and sunken parks or amphitheaters that could temporarily retain rainwater and release it gradually. For cisterns, he said MMDA was coordinating with water concessionaires on simple filtration so captured water could be reused for irrigation, toilet flushing and washing. Ejercito named Camp Aguinaldo, Rizal Memorial and Rizal Park among sites discussed. Artes said Rizal Memorial was affected by renovation and Rizal Park was not a priority because it sits high, has no natural watercourse, and piping water there would be costly; he identified Camp Aguinaldo, Rasulayman, Remedios Circle, Harborview near the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the University of the Philippines (UP) and Miriam College as other candidate sites. MMDA had signed an agreement with UP and identified five sites near Commonwealth Avenue, C. P. Garcia Avenue and Xavierville; it had presented a proposal to the University of Santo Tomas (UST), whose management had not yet agreed. Artes also described a small Harborview project with pumps because gravity drainage through a 3.5-by-3.5-meter main was blocked at high tide. He said Quezon City had built three small impounding facilities beneath basketball courts and reported reduced flooding at nearby roads.

Ejercito and Artes discussed increasingly intense rainfall, with Artes saying August rainfall approached the volume of Ondoy but lasted longer. They also discussed the Japanese-supported Marikina works; Artes said flooding had become minimal in most areas, including Provident, though a small number of barangays were still affected. For Quezon City, Artes identified San Juan River dredging and an upland pumping station by DPWH to keep runoff from flowing into the river. He said San Juan River overflowed at a lower level than before, which he attributed possibly to siltation, and that inland water could not drain. Artes agreed the dredging and station interventions needed coordination among MMDA, DPWH and local offices.

[02:39:00 · asr-004249](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004249) · [02:41:10 · asr-004354](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004354) · [02:41:21 · asr-004365](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004365) · [02:42:11 · asr-004412](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004412) · [02:42:53 · asr-004448](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004448) · [02:43:11 · asr-004463](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004463) · [02:43:59 · asr-004503](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004503) · [02:50:26 · asr-004871](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004871) · [02:52:05 · asr-004962](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-004962)

## Committee outcome

### Committee outcome

Committee chair Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito said the remaining questions and concerns would be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and other agencies for responses in preparation for plenary. He deemed the DBM budget and its attached agencies, lump-sum funds, budgetary support to government corporations, other items, and allocations to local government units submitted for plenary consideration, subject to plenary discussion and submission of the requested documents. He then suspended the briefing.

[03:24:49 · asr-006071](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006071) · [03:25:25 · asr-006089](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006089) · [03:25:39 · asr-006096](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006096) · [03:25:43 · asr-006098](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006098) · [03:25:50 · asr-006099](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/103/#asr-006099)