Marcos to sign budget on Jan. 5, 2026

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December 24, 2025 | 2:28pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Palace confirmed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the budget on Jan. 5, 2026 — meaning that the country will operate on a re-enacted budget for five days. 

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto confirmed to reporters on Wednesday, December 24, that the budget will be signed on January 5, the first week of 2026. 

However, under the 1987 Constitution, if Congress fails to pass the budget by December 31, the government will use a reenacted budget, meaning it will use the 2025 budget as a guide. 

This year’s budgetary process comes on the heels of the biggest corruption scandal to have rocked the Marcos administration.

Billions of pesos were suspected to have been funneled into bogus flood control projects at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), with contractors, officials and lawmakers allegedly receiving kickbacks.

In a bid for transparency, lawmakers livestreamed the bicameral conference committee—a traditionally closed-door meeting between the House and the Senate, often cited as one of the budget stages where corruption occurs.

However, with the budget livestreamed, tensions rose when lawmakers reached a deadlock over the DPWH’s budget.

Senators sought to trim P45 billion from the DPWH’s budget, but both the DPWH and the House argued that this would put projects at risk.

While the DPWH deadlock delayed the budget proceedings by a day, lawmakers also meticulously reviewed every item, prolonging the bicam.