Submissions for 2026 budget reach P11 trillion

MANILA, Philippines — Government agencies have proposed P11 trillion in funding for their programs next year, with the budget department taking a cautious stance in the face of a still limited fiscal space.

Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary Goddes Libiran said the DBM is now reviewing all submissions under the second tier of the budget process.

“We are looking at approximately P11 trillion for Tier 1 and Tier 2 because there’s a lot of increase in agencies’ submissions,” Libiran told reporters on the sidelines of the Open Government Week 2025 opening ceremony yesterday.

“We will budget it based on the available fiscal space and there’s the DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee),”
 she said.

This year’s budget submission is a little over 20 percent higher than the P9 trillion in total proposals last year.

However, only P6.326 trillion was approved under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

More so, this is over 70 percent above the 2026 national expenditure program pegged at a record P6.793 trillion, based on the government’s fiscal program.

“The DBM’s job is to determine which ones are really aligned with our medium-term fiscal framework, to the Philippine Development Plan, to the priorities of the administration and which ones are implementation-ready,” Libiran said.

The DBM official maintained that many agencies want to accomplish a lot, especially as the administration targets tangible outputs halfway through its term.

For one, Libiran said the military has increased its budget request for its modernization program.

“Of course, the marching order of the President is that we need to get things done. People need to see that they’re really paying their taxes,” she said.

For now, the DBM is finishing up technical budget hearings and will proceed with its preliminary executive review of the funding requests.

After that, a polished proposal would be presented to the executive review board headed by Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

Key priorities in the 2026 budget include managing the lingering effects of high food prices and safeguarding the purchasing power of Filipinos.

In next year’s spending plan, the administration will continue to support infrastructure investments and sustain efforts to digitize public financial management to boost bureaucratic efficiency and drive transparent service delivery.