As part of the government’s bid for a transparent budget, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said there will be neither urgent certifications nor unprogrammed funding in the 2026 national budget bill.
Speaking in a press conference on Monday, Sotto said he – along with Senate panel on finance head Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian – would push for the removal of unprogrammed funds in the national budget for next year.
‘Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian and I will ensure that when we discuss the budget on its final reading, there will be no unprogrammed funds. We will put this on programmed allocations,’ said Sotto.
‘So that it’s clear and transparent. We can avoid the act of budget realignment once the budget is already passed,’ he added.
Apart from this, Sotto noted that, upon the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the national budget bill would no longer be certified as urgent.
The certification of urgency gives lawmakers the authority to do the second and third reading of a bill on the same day, disregarding the three-day rule outlined in the Constitution.
‘The president himself said that. He said he no longer likes a shortcut on the three-day rule. So it’s like that. I’m sure it will also be applied in the Senate,’ said Sotto.
However, now that the budget will not be certified as urgent, will this delay the passage of funding for next year?
The Senate chief is convinced it would not.
‘It will do good for us. It happens all the time. Congress rushes us, even then, until now. They will rush it once it’s on second reading, and then they will ask the president for an urgent certification. But the question is, have they read it?’ Sotto asked.
‘So it will be good for us, and that is right. It will not be approved on the same day. You have three days to go over and review what you approved on the second reading before you vote in a nominal vote on the third reading,’ he added.