GOVERNMENT AGENCIES’ budget proposals for the 2026 national budget have surged to P11 trillion, up from the P9.2 trillion in funding requests made for the 2025 budget, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“It is not finished yet and only three bureaus were finalized. But based on the submissions, because there are a lot of them, there’s a 200-300% increase in agency submissions. So, they’re looking at approximately P11 trillion,” DBM Undersecretary Goddes Hope O. Libiran told reporters on the sidelines of the 2025 Open Government Week on Monday.

This is 20% higher than the P9.2 trillion in funding requests from government agencies last year.

“There are a lot of agencies that want to do a lot and maybe, like, for example, the Armed Forces of the Philippines raised their request for a modernization program,” she added.

The DBM’s estimate also accounted for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 proposals.

The government employs a two-tier budget process; ongoing spending is considered in Tier 1 and proposals for new and expanded spending are evaluated in Tier 2.

The P11-trillion proposals will be later reviewed under the Preliminary Executive Review Board.

Once they finalize it, they will defend it to the Executive Review Board, which includes Budget Secretary Amenah [F. Pangandaman] and the senior officials like us,” she said.

The final budget will be based on available fiscal space.

“The work of DBM is to determine which ones are really aligned with our Medium-Term Fiscal Framework to the Philippine Development Plan to the priorities of the administration and which are implementation-ready,” she said.

“If we put their proposal in the National Expenditure Program, won’t the budget be wasted? Will they be able to implement that? We’re in the process of that,” Ms. Libiran said.

In 2026, the overall National Expenditure Program will hit a record P6.793 trillion, up 7.38% from the P6.326-trillion national budget signed in 2025.

At the same event, Ms. Pangandaman expressed optimism that the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill will be passed by the incoming Congress.

“We conducted a series of roundtable discussions with the government, CSOs (civil society organizations), academic, and private sector to advance the passage of Freedom of Information bill in the 20^th Congress,” she said. “With the support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., I am confident that we will soon pass our very own FOI.”

The DBM and the Presidential Communications Office are set to incorporate the results from the discussions to strengthen the draft FOI bill. The draft bill will be presented to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting on May 26. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante