Suansing denies offering P150-M incentives for 2026 budget votes 

December 29, 2025 | 2:28pm

MANILA, Philippines — The chairperson of the powerful House appropriations committee denied allegations by Rep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas) that lawmakers are offered millions of pesos in "incentives" to help pass the 2026 national budget.

Rep. Mikaela Suansing (Nueva Ecija) maintained the House leadership does not dictate its members on how to vote on legislative measures.

"The House leadership does not influence any individual member of the House to vote in any way," Suansing said in a statement on Monday, December 29, released as both chambers prepare to ratify the P6.7-trillion budget for 2026.

"The House of Representatives is a collegial body. We respect each member to have the freedom to vote and to decide based on the needs of their constituents and their conscience," she added.

Suansing was responding to allegations Leviste made last week at an online press conference. He had claimed a staff member from Suansing's office allegedly offered him P151 million in budget allocations as informal "incentives" before the House's final reading of the 2026 budget in October.

Leviste said a person identifying herself as "Attorney Jolina" from Suansing's office contacted him via Viber on September 30, asking to meet at a lounge in the Batasang Pambansa complex. 

During that meeting, Leviste said the staffer showed him a document breaking down P151 million in allocations across various government programs, including P25 million for public works projects.

The House approved the 2026 budget on final reading on October 13.  

Budget transparency reforms

In denying Leviste's allegation, Suansing pointed to several reforms the 20th Congress initiated to make the budget process more transparent and lawmakers more accountable. 

These include the creation of the Budget Amendment and Review Sub-Committee (BARSc) to replace the controversial "small committee" that previously met with their Senate counterparts in closed-door bicam meetings.  

The House also institutionalized consultations with civil society organizations regarding their budget concerns, Suansing said.

"Through these initiatives, the national budget was scrutinized more thoroughly. The BARSc spent an additional 20 hours reviewing the proposed General Appropriations Bill before it was submitted for plenary consideration," Suansing said.

The House is set to reconvene briefly today to ratify the bicameral conference committee report on the P6.793-trillion budget for 2026. The Senate will do the same in a separate session. 

The bicameral conference committee signed the report Sunday, December 28, after reconciling disagreements between the House and Senate versions of the budget.

Once both chambers ratify the report, the budget will be transmitted to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for signature.

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