Despite recent political tensions, both Congress and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) will see reduced funding in the proposed 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), according to a report from Inquirer.net.
The NEP, prepared by the executive branch and submitted to Congress, allocates ₱26.39 billion for the legislative branch — more than ₱3 billion lower than its own proposal of ₱30.18 billion. Compared to the 2025 NEP’s ₱31.24 billion, this is a drop of nearly ₱4.8 billion. The amount is also significantly smaller than the ₱50.81 billion Congress received under the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
Breakdowns show steep cuts across most legislative offices: the Senate’s allocation was reduced from its ₱9.67 billion proposal to ₱7.52 billion; the Senate Electoral Tribunal from ₱391.8 million to ₱329.8 million; the Commission on Appointments from ₱1.76 billion to ₱1.089 billion; and the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal from ₱1.1 billion to ₱255.9 million. The House of Representatives, however, saw only a slight reduction from ₱17.26 billion to ₱17.20 billion.
The OVP is set to receive ₱902.8 million under the 2026 NEP — higher than its ₱744.1 million budget in the 2025 GAA but far below the ₱2.026 billion proposed by the executive for 2025, and less than the ₱1.783 billion it had in 2024.
These budget changes come months after Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment in February 2025, which stemmed from allegations of misuse of confidential funds and other violations. While the House swiftly transmitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate, the process stalled and was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for violating the one-year bar rule.
During House investigations, lawmakers flagged suspicious acknowledgment receipts for confidential expenses, including those signed by individuals with unusual names such as “Mary Grace Piattos” and inconsistencies in signatures from a certain “Kokoy Villamin.” These findings fueled public scrutiny and deepened political friction between the branches.
