By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – The Senate is considering trimming its own 2027 budget by as much as PHP2 billion below the executive branch’s proposal, demonstrating spending restraint amid limited government resources and competing funding priorities.
During Thursday’s Senate Committee on Finance hearing, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. said the chamber submitted several budget scenarios, ranging from the PHP7.7 billion provided under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to approximately PHP5.7 billion.
The proposed PHP7.7-billion allocation is already PHP863 million, or 10.1 percent, lower than the Senate’s budget under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
Bantug said the alternative funding proposals were designed to maintain the Senate’s legislative operations, public services and institutional modernization while ensuring responsible management of government resources.
Finance committee chairperson JV Ejercito said the chamber was setting an example by considering reductions in its own expenditures as lawmakers scrutinize the proposed budgets of other government agencies.
“Just in the Senate, we are practicing what we preach,” Ejercito said.
He noted that the Senate was among the few government institutions with a proposed budget lower than its current appropriation, citing the country’s limited fiscal space.
Despite the proposed reductions, Bantug said the chamber would continue improving its digital systems, legislative services and public access to information.
He reported that the Commission on Audit issued an unmodified opinion on the Senate’s 2025 financial statements, with no audit suspensions, disallowances or charges recorded for the year.
As of Oct. 14, the Senate had obligated PHP6.5 billion of its PHP8.8-billion allotment for 2026, equivalent to a 74.41-percent obligation rate.
Other congressional offices
Meanwhile, the Commission on Appointments (CA) reduced its proposed 2027 funding requirement to PHP1.73 billion after being advised to streamline expenditures.
CA Secretary Myra Marie Villarica said the commission initially requested approximately PHP1.9 billion, but the Department of Budget and Management recommended only PHP1.14 billion.
Following consultations and instructions to exercise fiscal restraint, the commission reduced its additional funding request to PHP595.79 million, bringing its revised proposal to PHP1.73 billion, just 1.1 percent higher than its current PHP1.71-billion budget.
The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), meanwhile, requested an additional PHP93.51 million to restore employee compensation funding, undertake urgent building repairs and improve its information technology systems.
SET Secretary Luis Jose Geronimo said the tribunal needed funding for structural improvements following incidents that compromised the safety and security of its personnel.
He also cited the need to modernize the tribunal’s digital systems and strengthen employee welfare, including health maintenance coverage.
Ejercito subsequently declared the proposed budgets of the Senate, SET and CA submitted for plenary consideration, subject to the submission of additional documents and responses to questions that may arise during the budget debates. (PNA)
