House OKs ₧6.793-T budget bill for 2026 By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz
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LIVING HOSTAGES AND PALESTINIAN PRISONERS ARE RELEASED AS PART OF CEASEFIRE IN GAZA
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HE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading the proposed P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for fiscal year 2026. Proponents described it as transparent, clean, and sufficient to ensure fiscal stability, with programs that will benefit every Filipino, but other lawmakers denounced it as a continuation of the “corrupt pork barrel system” and unprogrammed funds. With 287 votes in favor, 12 against, and 2 abstentions, lawmakers passed House Bill 4058, or the 2026 GAB, which will fund key
government programs and projects aimed at sustaining economic growth, improving public services, and addressing inflationary and climate-related challenges. The 2026 GAB now heads to the Senate, which will conduct its own deliberations before convening with the House in a bicameral conference committee to finalize the spending plan in time for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signing before the year’s end. House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Suansing said the 2026 national budget is “truly responsive to the needs of the Filipino people” and “a budget that Congress can be proud of.” The total education budget for
2026 will reach a historic P1.28 trillion—the first time the Philippines exceeds the 4 percent of GDP benchmark for education, reaching 4.1 percent. The health sector will receive a total of P411.2 billion, while the agriculture budget totals P292.9 billion. Suansing emphasized reforms to ensure transparency and prevent misuse of unprogrammed appropriations. Infrastructure projects such as flood control, bridges, and roads are no longer eligible under the renamed “Strengthening Assistance for Government Social Programs,” which now only covers social programs in education, health, and social protection. Only
Foreign-Assisted Projects (FAPs) remain eligible due to international agreements. House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos said the passage of the national budget would be carried out with accountability and efficiency. “We’ve been making sure every peso goes to the exact agency it’s supposed to,” Marcos said. “Given that the House is prioritizing the budget, the committee will address other pending measures, such as House Joint Resolution No. 2, once we have more time. We want to make sure that both chambers are in agreement on transparency in the budget process.” See “House,” A2
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Tuesday, October 14, 2025 Vol. 21 No. 6
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
VEN as Manila is still in queue to wrap up talks with Washington, the government has neither earmarked funds nor rolled out initiatives to assist exporters who will be affected by the higher tariffs slapped on goods bound for the United States, its long-time top export destination. At a Senate hearing on Monday, Trade Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty said: “Of course, on our part, we want to fast-track the negotiations [with the US] but when we had our last round of negotiations about three weeks ago, they told
us [that] they’re also facing a lot of negotiations with other countries.” He added, “Right now, based on our discussion with our counterpart, it will be very difficult to See “Ready,” A8
RATE CUT BEFORE YEAR-END STILL POSSIBLE, BMI PROJECTS By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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HE country’s key policy rate could still be lowered by the Monetary Board in its final rate-setting meeting for this year and through 2026, according to BMI, a Fitch Solutions Company. In its latest commentary, BMI forecasts a further 25-basis points rate cut in December and 50-basis points more next year. The Monetary Board, the highest policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), reduced the key policy
rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent, defying market expectations of a pause. BMI said the BSP’s dovish tone signaled that it was poised to “frontload easing” to support the economy, projecting another 25-basis-point cut in December that would bring the policy rate to 4.50 percent by end-2025. The central bank said in its press release after it delivered a rate cut that it sees a “scope for a more accommodative monetary policy stance” and the “favorable inflation outlook and moderating domestic demand See “Rate,” A2
WORTH EVERY GRAIN A farmer’s wife performs tahip, the traditional method of winnowing palay (unmilled rice) to separate grains from husks, in Nueva Ecija, the country’s rice granary. Citing the widening gap between production costs and buying prices, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan renewed his call for the government to set a floor price for palay purchases of state agencies, noting that in the 2025 budget, P278 million is allocated for DILG’s rice subsidy alone. He noted that farmers currently sell their harvest for only P8 to P10 per kilo—well below the P14 to P15 it costs to produce—and sought the issuance of an executive order under the Sagip Saka Act to ensure fair compensation and help farmers recover from mounting debts. NONIE REYES
PBBM leads ₧.3-B Davao aid distribution By Samuel P. Medenilla
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DTI BUDGET DELIBERATIONS Senator Imee Marcos, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, presides over the deliberations of Finance Subcommittee I on the proposed 2026 budgets of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its attached agencies and corporations at the Senate on Monday, October 13, 2025. Marcos fields questions to DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque (left) during the budget hearing. ROY DOMINGO
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NFAZED by possible threats from supporters of the Dutertes, President Ferdinand Marcos led the distribution of almost P300 million financial aid in localities devastated by “doublet earthquake” in Caraga and Davao Oriental last week. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) assured the Executive branch of the government that it still has a sufficient budget to replenish the Quick Response Fund (QRF) of concerned government agencies, which is used for their disaster response, for now. In a press briefing in Malacañang
on Monday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the chief executive is confident he will face no security risk from Davaoeños since he was bringing them disaster relief. “Our President will not be afraid to go to any region of our country because he is the President and he will help all our countrymen in need,” she said. Marcos is currently at odds with the Dutertes after the government turned over former President Rodrigo R. Duterte to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in March. The former chief executive is currently detained at the Hague, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the deaths
of at least 6,000 suspects from the Duterte administration’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs and other crimes. In a recent statement, Congressman Paolo “Pulong” Z. Duterte, the son of the former President, said he will make those responsible for the arrest of his father “pay for their crimes.” Castro decried the threat, which she said has no place in a “civilized society,” which is governed by the rule of law.
Financial support
ON Monday, Marcos went to the municipalities of Manay and Tarragona in Davao Oriental, where he announced the allocation of P298 million in financial aid from the Office of the President to the
quake-hit areas. “It’s up to the LGU [local government units] how they will use it,” President Marcos said during the situation briefing he presided over outside the Tarragona Municipal Hall in Davao Oriental. Davao Oriental and Caraga were rocked by separate earthquakes with magnitudes 7.4 and 6.8 on 10 October 2025. In its latest report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that the earthquakes killed at least 8 people and injured 403 others. Both natural disasters have affected 520,185 people and damaged 2,102 houses and 548 infrastructures as of 6 am of 13 October 2025. See “PBBM,” A8
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.2700 n JAPAN 0.3839 n UK 77.7846 n HK 7.4876 n CHINA 8.1657 n SINGAPORE 44.9441 n AUSTRALIA 37.8580 n EU 67.6806 n KOREA 0.0408 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5358 Source: BSP (October 13, 2025)