Senate resets calendar anew to allow full review of 2026 budget

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

(Senate of the Philippines/facebook)

MANILA – The Senate has extended its session calendar to give lawmakers more time to review the proposed 2026 national budget, as Senate President Vicente Sotto III reiterated the chamber’s policy against what he called “blind ratification.”

During the regular session on Monday, the Senate approved a motion by Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri to move the resumption of session from Dec. 22 to Dec. 29 and the adjournment from Dec. 23 to Dec. 30, to allow the completion of the bicameral conference committee report and the preparation of the enrolled bill for the 2026 General Appropriations Act.

“There is a motion by the distinguished Majority Leader to amend the legislative calendar. So, if there is no objection, hearing none, the motion is approved with consent of the body,” Sotto said.

In an interview, Sotto said the Senate would not proceed with ratification without seeing an almost enrolled or fully enrolled copy of the budget, stressing that he wanted the final measure to be “very clean” and free from any insertions.

“As far as I’m concerned, while I’m Senate President gusto ko malinaw (I want it to be clear),” Sotto said, adding that he does not want a repeat of last year’s experience when the chamber ratified a budget based only on a summary.

Senate Committee on Finance chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian said the extension would give time for the printing, reconciliation, and proofreading of the draft enrolled bill, which will be shared with senators and bicameral conferees ahead of ratification scheduled on Dec. 29.

“Our direction is to print the draft enrolled bill, share it with the bicam conferees as well as the other senators, and have the signing of the draft enrolled bill together with the bicameral conference committee report,” Gatchalian said, noting that the process is part of transparency measures being implemented for the 2026 budget.

Sotto said under the current Senate leadership, the chamber would not allow any rushed approval of the budget without full visibility of its contents.

“For the record, this Congress, under our leadership, will never allow a blind ratification, ever,” he said.

Zubiri said the calendar extension was necessary to allow senators sufficient time to study the enrolled copy and ensure that it faithfully reflects what was approved by the bicameral conference committee, noting that the House of Representatives had adopted a similar adjustment.

Sotto also downplayed concerns about possible delays in the signing of the budget, saying a short reenactment of the previous year’s budget would not pose a problem if the review extends into early January.

“A few days or a week or so, walang problema ‘yun (there’s no problem with that),” he said.

The proposed 2026 national budget is expected to be ratified by the Senate on Dec. 29 once the enrolled bill is finalized and circulated to all members.