The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that seeks the Senate’s concurrence on extending session up to Oct. 12, so that the chamber can approve the proposed 2027 national budget on third and final reading.
During the session on Monday, Deputy Majority Leader and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan Panaligan moved that House Resolution (HR) No. 1501 be considered, prompting Deputy Speaker Ferjenel Biron to direct the deputy secretary general to read the said measure.
HR No. 1501’s title read as a ‘resolution requesting the Honorable Senate of the Philippines for consent to extend the plenary session of the House of Representatives to October 12, 2026, for the purpose of considering the General Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2027 on third and final reading.’
The resolution was then adopted via viva voce or voice voting.
House Concurrent Resolution No. 17 which laid down Congress’ schedule stated that the last session day will be on Oct. 9, as the legislative branch will adjourn from Oct. 10 to Nov. 8.
If the Senate allows it, this will not be the first time that the House extended its session to accommodate the passage of the annual budget.
In August 2025, when the House was tackling the then-proposed 2026 national budget, the chamber adopted a resolution that amends the original schedule of the 20th Congress’ first regular session, pushing the adjournment to Oct. 11, 2025.
Longer session days are necessary for the passage of a bill, since three days have to pass first before a bill approved on second reading is considered for third reading.
If the House approves the proposed P7.2 trillion budget for 2027, as contained in House Bill No. 10858 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on Wednesday, the earliest working day they can tackle the measure for third reading is on Oct. 12.
Last Sept. 25, the House wrapped up its plenary-level debates on the government agencies’ proposed budget, effectively ending the period of sponsorship and debates.
This period is among the several steps that a bill would go through before it is considered for second reading approval. After this, there will be a period of amendments, where committee amendments and institutional amendments will be heard.
Part of the amendments that will be raised during the plenary sessions include the changes proposed by the Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) – a sub-panel of the House committee on appropriations tasked to thresh out amendments in the GAB.