House panel approves 2027 budget

THE HOUSE COMMITTEE on Appropriations on Monday approved the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, clearing the way for plenary deliberations.

Appropriations Committee Chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela B. Suansing said House Bill (HB) No. 10858 or the General Appropriations Act was approved without amendments during an executive committee meeting.

Ms. Suansing is set to sponsor the budget bill on Tuesday, officially opening the plenary debates at the House of Representatives.

The House is targeting to approve HB 10858 on second reading on Oct. 5 or 6, and on third reading on Oct. 9.

Ms. Suansing told reporters the Budget Amendments Review Committee (BARC) has yet to convene to deliberate on proposed amendments to the budgets of some government agencies.

The BARC will discuss the amendment requests from government agencies in a meeting later this week or early next week, she added.

Ms. Suansing said there could be additional funding for education and agriculture programs.

Under the National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Department of Education (DepEd) has been allocated a P975.96-billion budget for 2027, while the Department of Agriculture (DA) has been allotted P198.45 billion.

Ms. Suansing said the DA budget could be augmented following Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr.’s concerns over the looming “Super El Niño.”

“(Secretary Laurel) mentioned the things that we need to focus on in the El Niño area. He mentioned fertilizer assistance, solar irrigation pumps, and the like. So, it’s possible to have amendments in the DA,” she said.

Bataan Rep. Albert S. Garcia, who is also the vice chairperson of the committee, said members of the minority led by Minority floor leader and Party-list Rep. Marcelino C. Libanan objected to the budget bill’s approval.

“Their understanding is, if you supported this, you won’t ask questions in the plenary because the understanding is you supported as is, in its current version, the budget,” Mr. Garcia told reporters.

Amendments would have to pass through the BARC before being taken up on the House floor, he said.

Mr. Garcia said the process differs from last year when the BARC had to act before plenary deliberations because of major changes to the budget, including the P255 billion in flood control allocations.

For his part, Mr. Libanan said the minority could not support the budget at this stage because doing so would compromise its role in scrutinizing the proposed allocations.

“We always have a duty to interpolate, to debate, to explore… For now, we cannot be sponsors of the budget,” he said. — P.J.Bacon