MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is keeping education, health, and infrastructure development at the core of his administration’s spending priorities, anchoring the proposed P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026 on these three sectors despite shifts in other budget rankings.
Budget data show the trio maintained their top spots from 2025, while defense climbed to fourth place, overtaking interior and local government, which slid to fifth. Agriculture advanced to sixth ahead of social welfare, which dropped to seventh. Transportation and the judiciary stayed at eighth and ninth, respectively, while labor and employment entered the top 10, displacing the justice sector.
The proposed spending plan is 7.4 percent higher than this year’s P6.326-trillion budget and is equivalent to 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address, Marcos warned he would veto the 2026 General Appropriations Bill if it veers away from the NEP.
“Only programs aligned with my administration’s development agenda will receive funding,” he stressed.
The Department of Budget and Management submitted the NEP to Marcos in Malacañang on Tuesday and transmitted it to Congress on Wednesday, where it will serve as the framework for next year’s budget deliberations./PN
