President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has officially signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), totaling PHP 6.793 trillion, while simultaneously issuing a stern directive for heightened fiscal discipline and accountability in its execution.
In a decisive move to protect the nation’s fiscal health, the President’s Veto Message makes it clear: no budgetary items—specifically new programs or adjustments introduced during congressional deliberations—will be released automatically. All such funds are now subject to conditional implementation, ensuring that every peso spent aligns with the administration’s programmed priorities and legal standards.
President Marcos Jr. emphasized that while Congress holds the power of the purse, the Executive Branch is constitutionally mandated to ensure that funds are managed responsibly.
“I stand firm in my constitutional duty to ensure the faithful execution of laws,” President Marcos Jr. stated. “The passage of the National Budget is only the beginning. Today, we commence with the most difficult task—to ensure proper execution and to institute true accountability.”
The President placed several specific areas under conditional implementation to prevent leakage and ensure efficiency. These include:
Quick Response Funds (QRF)
Engineering and Administrative Overhead Expenses
Payment of Retirement Benefits and Pensions
Capacity Development Programs
Foreign Service Posts
Release of funds for these provisions will only occur once all legal, procedural, and fiscal requirements are fully met, contingent upon the government’s actual cash programming.
Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto reinforced this stance, noting that transparency will be the hallmark of the 2026 budget cycle. “We will make sure that what is written in law will be built on the ground—visible, trackable, and valuable to the people,” Recto said.
To support this, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has been directed to monitor the impact of congressional adjustments on agency performance. Agencies receiving additional funding must submit revised performance targets, ensuring that increased budgets result in measurable outputs.
DBM Acting Secretary Rolando U. Toledo affirmed the department’s commitment to this rigorous oversight: “The DBM will ensure this budget is managed with discipline and integrity so that every peso serves the Filipino people.”
The 2026 National Budget stands as a primary instrument of governance, anchored on the principles of legality and fiscal sustainability. By imposing these stricter conditions, the Marcos Jr. administration affirms its commitment to a government that is not only well-funded but also disciplined and results-oriented.
