00:01Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto confirms the budget for 2026 will be signed by the President in the first week of January.
00:09This means the Philippine government will be operating on a re-enacted 2025 budget for at least the first few days of the new year.
00:17The committee, composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, reconciled differences in both chambers' version of the proposed budget.
00:26Recto earlier told a media outlet, President Ferdinand Marquez Jr. is expected to sign the budget by January 5, 2026.
00:34This would be the first time in Marquez's presidency that a budget has to be re-enacted.
00:39Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Payne Laxon suggests a briefly re-enacted 2025 budget is preferable to a rush 2026 budget that is, quote,
00:48unresponsive to the needs of the times.
00:51In a statement, Laxon also raised several issues open to potential abuse by politicians.
00:57This includes funding for farm-to-market roads and assistance programs such as the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients or MEFIP
01:06and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations or AICs.
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