The House of Representatives will proceed with deliberations on the proposed 2027 national budget despite the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte in the Senate, House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander ‘Sandro’ Marcos said Monday.
Marcos said the impeachment proceedings would not disrupt the chamber’s legislative agenda as lawmakers prepare to receive the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) and begin reviewing next year’s spending plan.
‘The impeachment proceedings are not in the House. We will continue doing our job,’ Marcos said in an ambush interview.
He said the trial, which is being conducted by the Senate, would not affect the House’s work on the budget and other legislative measures.
‘I don’t think it will affect [the deliberations]; at least I can only speak on behalf of the Lower House. It will not affect what we have to do and what needs to be done,’ he said.
The executive branch submits the NEP to Congress as the basis for the General Appropriations Bill. The House Committee on Appropriations reviews the government’s fiscal assumptions and proposed spending before conducting agency budget hearings.
‘As you know, the budget is the single most important piece of legislation for both the House and the Senate,’ Marcos said.
He said the administration is expected to transmit the proposed spending program in August, allowing the House to immediately begin budget briefings and agency-level deliberations.
‘Now we are expecting the NEP to be turned over sometime next month, hopefully not too late, but hopefully the NEP turnover will be sometime in August. Then we can proceed with the budget briefings,’ he said.
Marcos also vowed to continue reforms adopted during last year’s budget process to enhance transparency and encourage greater participation from civil society organizations.
‘The Committee on Appropriations introduced several measures to make the budget process more transparent. We will ensure that different civic groups are involved in shaping and analysing the budget,’ he said.
‘We will continue all the reforms that were already implemented last year,’ Marcos added.