MANILA — The 2026 national budget reflects President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s recognition of the role of local government units (LGUs) in delivering public services and empowering communities, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Tuesday.

“Ang paniniwala ng administrasyon ay simple at direkta – kung local ang problema, sa lokal na pamahalaan din dapat manggaling ang diskarte o desisyon,” Acting DBM Secretary Rolando Toledo said in a press briefing at Malacañang.

“Kaya sa 2026, hindi lamang natin dinagdagan ang pondo ng mga LGU, binago natin ang mismong paraan ng paglalagay ng pondo sa budget. Mas malinaw ang papel ng lokal na pamahalaan, mas buo ang kanilang kapangyarihan at mas malinaw ang pananagutan,” he added.

Under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), LGUs received a PhP1.19 trillion National Tax Allotment (NTA), in addition to more than PhP31.7 billion in special shares from the national government and PhP1.41 billion from fire code fees.

The budget also provides PhP57.87 billion in the Local Government Support Fund for 2026, more than double last year’s allocation. The fund is designed to strengthen basic services and support far-flung localities, especially low-income or resource-constrained LGUs.

In disaster response and rehabilitation, Toledo said PhP15.33 billion of the PhP39.82 billion National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) will go directly to LGUs for rehabilitation and construction projects.

PhP10.685 billion was also allotted for the quick reaction fund (QRF), with the emergency fund replenishable once LGUs have spent 50 percent of their QRF allocations.