MANILA – The P6.793-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) recently passed by the House of Representatives is a “people-centered budget” that is transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs of ordinary Filipinos, House Committee on Appropriations Chair and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing said.

“Bukod po doon sa gusto natin gawing bukas at transparent ‘yung proseso ng paggawa ng budget, gusto po natin siguraduhin na ‘yung budget natin para sa taong 2026 ay talagang tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan, sa pangangailangan ng ating bansa at talagang mararamdaman ng mga Pilipino,” Suansing said in a press briefing, a week after the House approved the 2026 GAB on third and final reading on October 13.

Suansing said the spending plan reflects the chamber’s commitment, under the leadership of House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, to direct more resources toward social development.

She highlighted the House’s historic realignment of ₱255.5 billion from flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the country’s three key priority sectors—education, health, and agriculture.

“It’s unprecedented that we needed to reallocate ₱255.5 billion within the budget in such a short time span. Of that, ₱201.1 billion went to education, health and agriculture—the sectors that matter most to our people,” Suansing said.

The move, she added, supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Bagong Pilipinas agenda and ensures that the 2026 budget “brings government closer to the people.”

Education received the largest allocation at ₱1.28 trillion, the highest in Philippine history and equivalent to 4.1 percent of the nation’s GDP—breaching the international benchmark for the first time.

With the additional funding approved by the House, the health sector’s budget rose to ₱411.2 billion (an additional ₱90.8 billion), while the agriculture sector increased to ₱292.9 billion (an additional ₱53.8 billion).

According to Suansing, “we also took the guidance of our President, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in terms of the priority sectors and programs for us to look at. Ang tinignan po natin at ang binigyan natin ng prioridad ay ang edukasyon, kalusugan at agrikultura.”

She also underscored the House’s efforts to make the budget process open and accessible to the public.

“We made a commitment that transparency would not end with approval. That’s why the entire GAB—every page, every annex—is now publicly available,” Suansing said.

The complete third-reading version of the GAB, including all volumes and annexes, has been uploaded to the official House website.

All institutional amendments were also publicly deliberated through the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc), which conducted more than 20 hours of live-streamed sessions showing every realignment line by line.