Senate and House leaders announced that the proposed 2026 national budget will be ratified and transmitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on December 29.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he consulted with House Appropriations Chairperson Rep. Mika Suansing on the revised schedule following the bicameral conference committee meeting.
“It was originally supposed to be ratified by the House and the Senate on the 22nd, but based on the timetable of the staff, the signing will be on the 28th and the ratification on the 29th,” Gatchalian said.
He added that the delay is due to balancing and printing the reconciled budget numbers, a process that would take about five days.
Christmas celebrations and Noche Buena were also cited as factors affecting the timetable, with adjournment now moved to December 29.
Gatchalian and Suansing stressed that the legislative calendar would be amended on Monday to accommodate the changes.
When asked about the President’s review time, Gatchalian said the Department of Budget and Management is already synchronizing and reviewing the budget in real time.
Suansing echoed that the executive branch will have sufficient time to examine the General Appropriations Bill before signing.
Both leaders assured the public that the revised schedule would prevent a reenacted budget for 2026.
“We can now confidently say, now that the bicam is finished, that there will be no reenacted budget,” Suansing said.