Finance Secretary Ralph Recto on Tuesday assured senators that the proposed PHP6.79-trillion national budget for 2026 would focus on projects with the “highest multiplier effect”.

Recto, speaking before the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s briefing at the Senate, said the National Expenditure Program was designed to fund infrastructure, education, health, agriculture, and social welfare.

“Walang ghost projects dapat. Walang kurapsyon. Walang sayang na piso (There should be no ghost projects. No corruption. No wasted peso),” Recto said, adding that good spending is the best way to encourage tax compliance.

He said the government would allocate 5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product for infrastructure, 4 percent for education, and roughly 4 percent for health, agriculture, and social welfare programs.

Recto also reported that the economy continues to outperform expectations despite the global backdrop of wars, trade tensions, and climate risks.

He cited that Philippine inflation slowed to just 0.9 percent in July, well below the global average of 4.2 percent this year.

“Considering the heavy debt we inherited, the higher policy rates, and global headwinds, growing by an average of 5.9 percent under the Marcos administration is no small feat,” the Finance chief said.

The country’s growth performance, he added, is among the fastest in Asia.

Since 2022, the economy has generated about 6 million jobs, raising total employment to a record 50.5 million, with 31.8 million in stable, formal work.

Recto said this reflects a strengthening middle class and a consumer market projected to be the world’s 13th largest by 2030.

The proposed budget, aligned with the Medium-Term Fiscal Program, aims to gradually reduce deficit and debt while creating jobs and cutting poverty to single digits by the end of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s term.

“The 2026 proposed budget will help us get there. Let’s ensure that it works as hard as the people who fund it — the taxpayers,” Recto told senators. (PNA)