Cayetano seeks details on 2026 spending and gov’t debt as Senate begins 2027 budget review
As the Senate acts on the 2027 national budget, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano wants the government’s economic team to show how much of the 2026 budget has been spent, where the funds went, and how much the country has borrowed.
Cayetano raised these questions in a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chair JV Ejercito on August 27, 2026, as the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefed the chamber on the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
The Minority Leader said the information would help senators study the proposed budget and ensure that the budget process is transparent and “faithful to the priorities they all promised to serve.”
“There is no measure this Congress passes each year that is more consequential and touches more Filipino lives than the General Appropriations Act,” Cayetano said in his letter.
“It is our values and priorities written in numbers. That is why we owe it to our people to get this budget right,” he emphasized.
Among others, Cayetano asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) how much of the 2026 budget had been released, committed to projects, and actually paid out.
He also wants the DBM to provide each department’s and agency’s absorptive capacity — that is, how much each can realistically spend.
He also asked whether funds under the government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) framework had reached the intended initiatives, and requested details on their release and use.
Cayetano sought details on the national government’s total debt as of July 31, 2026, as well as the loans and bonds it took out or guaranteed over the past three years. He also asked which foreign loans and grants were still awaiting government approval.
The senator also requested a list of funds that had been transferred, realigned, or added to other programs since July 2023, including where the money came from and where it went.
He asked the agencies to submit their answers and supporting documents early so senators would have enough time to review them ahead of the agency budget hearings.
The Minority Leader also assured the Majority of his “full and good faith cooperation” in crafting “the best possible budget for 2027.”
“[It must be] a budget that honors God, builds communities, and transforms the nation,” he said.
Filipino Version
Cayetano humingi ng update sa 2026 budget at utang ng gobyerno sa pagbubukas ng 2027 budget hearings
Sa pagsisimula ng talakayan sa Senado para sa susunod na pambansang budget, pinagpapaliwanag ni Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano ang economic team ng pamahalaan tungkol sa lagay ng mga pondo sa ilalim ng 2026 national budget pati na ang kabuuang utang ng gobyerno.
Inisa-isa ni Cayetano ang mga tanong niya sa Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) sa isang liham kay Finance Committee Chairperson Senator JV Ejercito nitong August 27, 2026, kasabay ng briefing nito sa Senado tungkol sa 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Aniya, kailangan ng mga mambabatas ang mga impormasyong ito sa pagbalangkas ng panibagong pambansang budget na “transparent” at tapat sa mga prayoridad nito.
“There is no measure this Congress passes each year that is more consequential and touches more Filipino lives than the General Appropriations Act,” diin ni Cayetano sa kanyang liham.
“It is our values and priorities written in numbers. That is why we owe it to our people to get this budget right,” dagdag niya.
Kabilang sa mga tanong ni Cayetano sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM) ay kung magkano sa 2026 budget ang nailabas na, nailaan sa mga proyekto, at aktwal na nagastos.
Nais din niyang malaman mula sa DBM ang “absorptive capacity” o ang halagang kayang gastusin ng bawat ahensya. Humingi rin siya ng detalye tungkol sa mga pondong inilaan para sa mga programa sa ilalim ng Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT).
Sa Department of Finance (DOF) naman, tinanong ni Cayetano kung magkano na ang kabuuang utang ng pamahalaan hanggang July 31 ng kasalukuyang taon, pati na ang mga loan at bond na kinuha o ginarantiyahan ng gobyerno sa nakalipas na tatlong taon.
Tinanong din niya sa DOF kung aling mga foreign loan at grant ang hinihintay pa ang pag-apruba ng pamahalaan.
Humingi rin ang senador ng listahan ng mga pondong inilipat, ini-realign, o idinagdag sa ibang programa simula noong July 2023, pati na kung saan galing at saan napunta ang pera.
Hiniling ni Cayetano sa mga ahensya na maagang isumite ang kanilang mga sagot at mga kaugnay na dokumento para mabigyan ng sapat na panahon ang mga senador na pag-aralan ang mga ito bago ang mga nakatakdang budget hearing ng bawat ahensya.
Tiniyak naman ng Minority Leader sa Majority ang kanyang “full and good faith cooperation” sa pagbuo ng “best possible budget for 2027.”
“[It must be] a budget that honors God, builds communities, and transforms the nation,” aniya.
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