President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has formally enacted the country's spending plan for the coming year, signing the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2026 on Monday, January 5, 2026. The law authorizes a massive P6.793 trillion national budget.
Stricter Fiscal Policies Enforced
Following the signing, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) clarified on Friday, January 9, 2026, that the President has instituted much tighter controls on how funds will be disbursed. The DBM emphasized that the era of automatic releases for certain budget items is over.
In an official statement, the budget agency detailed that under the new GAA, no budgetary item will be released automatically or in a manner that bypasses legal and fiscal rules. This directive specifically targets new programs and budget adjustments that lawmakers inserted during congressional hearings.
Conditions for Fund Release
The DBM outlined that all increases in appropriations and new budget items approved by Congress are now subject to conditional implementation. The actual release of money for these purposes will depend on several critical factors:
- The national government's cash programming and availability of funds.
- Strict observance of prudent fiscal management principles.
- Full compliance with established budget execution rules and procedures.
- Final approval from President Marcos himself, based on the government's programmed priorities.
This marks a significant shift towards a more performance-oriented and cash-based budgeting system, ensuring that spending is aligned with actual revenue collection and strategic goals.
Key Budget Items Under Scrutiny
The DBM identified several major budget lines that will fall under these special provisions and require conditional implementation. These include:
- Quick Response Fund (QRF): Money set aside for disaster response.
- Engineering and Administrative Overhead Expenses.
- Payment of Retirement Benefits and Pensions.
- Capacity Development Programs.
- Foreign Service Posts operations.
Funds for these areas will only be released once all legal, procedural, and fiscal requirements are completely satisfied. The DBM stressed that the passage of the budget is just the first step, with the greater challenge lying in its disciplined execution and ensuring accountability for every peso spent.
Agencies Must Align Performance with Funding
President Marcos has also directed the DBM to closely monitor how congressional adjustments affect agency performance. Agencies that receive new items or increased appropriations will be formally notified of the changes to their budgets.
Furthermore, these agencies will be required to submit revised performance targets. This measure directly ties funding increases to the delivery of measurable outputs and concrete results, ensuring taxpayers get value for money.
DBM Secretary Rolando Toledo underscored the department's commitment, stating in Filipino: "With full commitment, the DBM will ensure that this budget is managed with discipline, integrity, and clear purpose so that every peso is properly allocated and truly serves the Filipino people."
The move is seen as a major effort by the Marcos administration to curb potential wasteful spending and instill a stronger culture of fiscal responsibility across all government departments for the 2026 fiscal year.
