DBM Secretary Amenah "Mina" F. Pangandaman expressed her gratitude to the President’s bold pronouncement on crafting the 2026 national budget during his 4th SONA, where the President asserted that he will not approve a proposed budget that does not adhere to the National Expenditure Program (NEP), also known as the President's Budget.

 

The President said: “I will return any proposed General Appropriations Bill that is not fully aligned with the National Expenditure Program… I am willing to do this even if we end up with a re-enacted budget."

 

According to Sec. Mina, the President’s statement would significantly push for passing a budget that will be highly responsive to the most pressing concerns of the Filipino people.

 

"We, at the DBM, support the wisdom of the President as we trust that his decisions are always about what's best for the country. We appeal to our lawmakers to follow President Bongbong Marcos' directive and adhere to the NEP as closely as possible," Sec. Mina said.

 

During the post-SONA Discussions on Tuesday, 29 July 2025, held in San Juan City, together with several members of the cabinet, the Budget Secretary explained the tedious process of preparing the budget and the repercussions of having a budget that is inconsistent with the NEP.

 

"Pagka pirma po ng Pangulo ng ating budget ng Disyembre, January po i-implement natin ang mga proyekto na 'yan. At the same time po, January magkakaron na rin po tayo ng Budget Call. Ibig sabihin, 'yung mga kasama ko po dito na gabinete, magsisimula na po gumawa ng kanilang priorities, programs and projects", Sec. Mina said.

 

"Pagkatapos po n'yan, ipapadala po nila sa DBM, pag-aaralan po namin— may one on one po 'yan kasama ng ating mga gabinete pagkatapos po, may one on one pa rin po kasama ang ating Pangulo. Inupuan po 'yan ng Pangulo to make sure na 'yung mga programa na pino-post po natin sa ating budget ay consistent po doon sa ating Medium Term Fiscal Framework at Philippine Development Plan. Pagkatapos po n'yan, magkakaron po ng full cabinet kasama ang Pangulo at iisa-isahin po 'yung laman po ng ating National Expenditure Program. Once ma-approve po ‘yan, tatawagin na po natin ‘yang President's Budget, o 'yung final NEP po. After po nyan ipapadala naman po natin 'yan sa Kongreso," she continued.

 

"Pinag-isipan po nang mabuti ng ating Pangulo -- ng Executive -- kung paano po babalangkasin 'yang budget na 'yan. So, kung 'yan po ay mababago at hindi po magiging katulad nung ginawa po ng atin pong mga gabinete, unang-una po, babagal ang pagi-implement ng mga proyekto. Kasi hindi po kami ready d'yan eh. Ang napag-usapan po namin sa loob ng anim na buwan, 'yun po 'yung alam namin kung paano i-implement at tsaka paano isakatuparan. So, 'pag magkaroon po ng mga bagong proyekto na hindi po consistent sa ating mga programa, mahihirapan po kaming i-implement itong mga 'to, made-delay ang mga proyekto kapag po hindi consistent ang ating budget doon sa inaprubahan ng Executive," Sec. Mina pointed out.

 

 

Sec. Mina also highlighted President Bongbong Marcos' approval of releasing a total of P1 billion to fund the establishment of Child Development Centers (CDCs) in low-income local government units across the country.

 

She noted that the amount will cover a total of 328 LGU beneficiaries without CDCs. Of this number, 89 will be in Luzon, 106 in Visayas, and 133 in Mindanao, including BARMM.

 

"Kung hindi po alam ng ating mga kababayan, ang Child Development Centers po, ito po 'yung for nursery and prep, wala po kasi tayong ganyan sa ating sistema. Hindi po katulad nung mga mas nakaka-angat sa buhay, ‘yung iba po, 2  years old o 3 years old po nag-aaral na, pero sa nakakarami po wala po tayong ganyan," Sec. Mina said.

 

"Inaprubahan po ng ating Pangulo ang pagco-construct ng more than 300 Child Development Centers sa Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. Three million po per building at ang local government units po ang maglalagay ng mga guro o 'yung mag-aassist sa mga bata para pag sila ay pupunta sa child development centers," she added.

 

 

In the same event, the Budget Secretary also reaffirmed the creation of over 60,000 teaching positions, as mentioned by the President in his SONA. She also announced the administration's plan to add more non-teaching items to augment the current teacher workforce in schools for the benefit of the country's students and educators.

 

"Sa teachers naman po, alam po natin lahat na may backlog sa teachers. Maraming estudyante pero kulang ang ating mga guro. So, sa panahon po ngayon pong adiminstrasyon ng ating Pangulong Bongbong Marcos, sisikapin po natin na matapos ang backlog na ‘yan," Sec. Mina assured.

 

"Ngayong taon pa lang po, meron pong 20,000 [new] teaching positions, may 10,000 admin positions. Bakit po importante ang administrative positions? ‘Yung mga teachers po natin, hindi lang sila nagtuturo, sila na rin po ‘yung gumagawa ng admin works sa opisina. So, kulang po yung oras nila sa pagtuturo. So, sa susunod na taon, dodoblehin po rin natin ‘yan. Meron din po tayong mga guidance counselors na idadagdag. So it’s more than 65,000 na po ang napagawa natin, naki-create na nating positions para sa ating mga guro at tsaka sa mga admin staff," she elaborated.

 

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