Last month, the Philippines’ House of Representatives approved the 2026 budget, with total spending set to hit 6.79 trillion pesos (around $116 billion), a 7.4 percent increase over the previous year. The budget is now being reviewed by the Senate. Typically, this is pretty straightforward but recently the budgeting process in the Philippines has become a forum for political showdowns and the airing of grievances.
This was the case in 2024 when funding was cut for portfolios overseen by Vice President Sara Duterte, an act that helped fracture the Marcos-Duterte alliance. Last year’s budget was uneventful by comparison, but this year it appears another kerfuffle is brewing as the Senate indicated it will cut spending already appro
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