00:00Meanwhile, government's leading technocrats or economic managers stood front and center in today's House budget deliberations to field questions on the 2026 National Expenditure Program covering allocations or the lack thereof on teachers' added compensation, health care, the status of AI development, among others.
00:19And then civil society groups had an up-close view on today's lively, even heated exchange between lawmakers and DBM officials, as our Mela Les Moras reports.
00:30As the House Committee on Appropriations started its deliberations on the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026, the Development Budget Coordination Committee or DBCC proudly presented the achievements of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcus Jr. as well as the goals they still aim to accomplish for the further growth of our economy.
00:54The DBCC is composed of the Department of Budget and Management or DBM, Department of Economy, Planning and Development, Department of Finance or DOF, and the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
01:06They were the first to attend the budget deliberations to explain the contents of the 2026 budget proposal as to how it will be funded and to provide an update on the current state of our economy.
01:17The Philippine economy has experienced robust growth over the past 15 years, with GDP growth averaging between 6 to 7 percent per capita GNI continues to rise, bringing us closer to crossing the World Bank's upper middle income threshold.
01:34We are poised to reach this milestone within the PDP period, possibly even this year.
01:40According to the DBM, under the proposed 2026 national budget, which is anchored on the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the administration will prioritize the promotion of human and social development, modernizing and revitalizing agriculture, business and technology, and maintaining good governments and bureaucratic efficiency.
02:01The DOF said the government continues to take steps to increase the government's revenues, which is the primary source of national funds.
02:08So far, we are on track to meet our medium-term fiscal framework targets, with revenue collections growing by double digit for the last three years at an average of 13.8 percent annually.
02:23Tax collections have also consistently expanded at an average of 11.5 percent annually.
02:29Meanwhile, during the interpolation of lawmakers, one of the issues which was scrutinized was the distribution of the proposed 2026 budget allocation to Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
02:40Mindanao, comprising six regions, will only receive the MISLI amount percentage of 15.4.
02:51Mindanao has a population of 26 million Mindanaonans, and that is exactly 22.3 percent of the December figure of the Philippine population of 116 million.
03:06In prior years, we don't have the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
03:11So some of the projects that should be given to the five provinces, six provinces, is not included in the total national budget,
03:26because we have provided a sum of money to the Bangsamoro region as provided for under the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
03:37Also discussed were the funds for RISE programs, bonuses for teachers, funding for public hospitals, and projects related to artificial intelligence or AI.
03:46But alongside this, issues concerning the 2025 national budget were also brought up,
03:51where Appropriations Chair Michaela Swan Singh and Navota City Representative Toby Tsiangko had some heated exchanges.
03:59Mayroon ba o wala?
04:00We would have to look into the records. May I ask exactly what you are asking for?
04:05The small committee report of the 2025 budget that has just asked the Comsec kung meron o wala.
04:16Kung meron, why was it not it's filed in archives based on our rules 15 days after?
04:23So meron ba o wala? Simple.
04:26The output of the small committee is already embedded into the HGAP itself.
04:31So that's the report. That's the output of the small committee.
04:35For now, the House has already abolished the small committee as part of their efforts toward a more open and transparent budget process.
04:43For the first time, representatives from some civil society organizations are also included in the deliberations as non-voting observers.
04:52Kapag malinaw ang proseso, malinaw din ang tiwala.
04:57At kapag may tiwala ang taong bayan, may lakas ang pamahalaan.
05:05Transparency is not an option. It is a cornerstone of democratic governance.
