Palace urges Congress not to cut Marcos projects in 2027 budget
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang urged Congress to preserve projects proposed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 as previous cuts redirected funds to unprogrammed appropriations.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the Supreme Court's recent ruling should guide lawmakers as they complete next year's spending plan.
"What the Supreme Court said should really be followed," Castro said in an interview with Bombo Radyo Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday, October 28. She added that projects proposed by the administration should no longer be reduced.
The House of Representatives has approved its version of the budget, while deliberations remain underway in the Senate.
Castro said lawmakers should avoid departing from the executive's proposal so that the administration's planned projects can be carried out.
"The power of the purse is with Congress. What the executive submits is only a proposed budget," she said.
She also defended the Marcos administration's handling of previous budgets, saying the Department of Budget and Management had been cautious in releasing money for projects whose proponents failed to provide sufficient justification.
That caution contributed to slower government spending in 2025, which the economic team and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said weighed on economic activity, according to Castro.
Asked whether the House should revisit its approved version of the 2027 budget, Castro said that decision rested with Congress.
She also urged lawmakers to consider the legislative timetable as they decide how to respond to the Supreme Court ruling.
"We will not interfere with what they want to do there," she said. "But perhaps they should also look at the time."
Budget watchdogs have meanwhile also criticized the House version of the budget. The People's Budget Coalition told the Senate that it found more than P1 trillion in what it called budget "red flags," including P695 billion in politically driven infrastructure, P210 billion in patronage-prone assistance programs and P112 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
The coalition also flagged nearly 7,000 infrastructure projects worth P190 billion that it said were added without publicly available supporting documents.
