The close coordination between the legislative and executive branches in crafting the 2026 national budget helped prevent implementation problems seen in previous years, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Tuesday.

Gatchalian thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for closely monitoring the budget process, noting that while the preparation of the General Appropriations Act is a legislative function, coordination with the executive remains crucial.

“Unang-una nagpapasalamat tayo sa ating Pangulo dahil nasabi niya rin kahapon sa kanyang statement na talagang tinutukan niya itong budget na ito (First of all, we thank our President because he also said in his statement yesterday that he closely monitored this budget),” Gatchalian said during a press briefing at the Senate in Pasay City.

He said coordination helps avoid issues where funds are added or reduced without proper alignment, which often leads to difficulties once the budget is implemented.

“Kung nasundan natin ‘yung mga nangyari in the past, maraming nadagdag o nabawasan. Dahil walang coordination with the executive, nagkakaroon ng problema sa implementation (If we look at what happened in the past, many items were added or reduced. Without coordination with the executive, problems arise in implementation),” the Committee on Finance chairperson said.

Gatchalian said the absence of vetoes on key parts of the 2026 budget is one of the results of their teamwork.

“One piece of evidence will be walang na-veto sa programmed appropriations. Wala rin na-veto sa general provisions. Wala ring na-veto sa special provisions (One piece of evidence is that nothing was vetoed in the programmed appropriations. There were also no vetoes in the general provisions and special provisions),” he said.

He said the only vetoes were under the unprogrammed appropriations, which he learned about just the day before President Marcos signed the measure at Malacañang in Manila on Monday.

Gatchalian stressed that the most important item already removed from the unprogrammed appropriations by the Senate was the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (SAGIP), worth about PHP80 billion.

“Para sa akin ang pinakamahalaga na wala na sa unprogrammed ay ‘yung SAGIP na tinanggal na ng Senado (For me, the most important thing that is no longer in the unprogrammed appropriations is SAGIP, which the Senate already removed), That’s worth about PHP80 billion,” he said.

He recalled that in 2024, more than PHP80 billion worth of flood-control projects were placed under SAGIP, which he described as a lump-sum fund vulnerable to abuse.

The senator contrasted this with targeted unprogrammed appropriations, such as those for Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization or foreign-assisted projects, which have defined destinations and uses. (PNA)