Senator Loren Legarda’s Manifestation on the Ratification of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the FY 2026 National Budget | December 29, 2025

Mr. President,

Yesterday, the twenty-eighth (28th) of December 2025, in my capacity as a member of the Senate, I voted in favor of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report, subject to certain reservations. My reservations arise from the National Government’s continued failure to remit PhilHealth’s actual legally mandated sin tax revenues from 2023 onward and statutory shares from PCSO and PAGCOR since 2019, undermining the Universal Health Care Act and delaying the transition to an institutionally guaranteed zero out-of-pocket care framework in public health facilities. I further emphasize that our shared responsibility does not end with the enactment of the 2026 GAA.

We must continue to closely monitor and evaluate the implementation of health programs by the Department of Health, as well as projects across all implementing agencies, to ensure that approved appropriations translate into measurable outcomes and full value for public investment.

Despite these reservations, I stand by the Bicameral Conference Committee Report which seeks to strengthen human capital through sustained investments in health, education, agriculture, and other sectors that directly affect productivity and quality of life. It positions human development as a central driver of economic growth, rather than a secondary objective.

Ang paglagdang ito ay hindi pormalidad lamang, bagkus ito’y paninindigan na ang bawat pisong inilalaan ay may malinaw na layunin at dapat maghatid ng tunay, nasusukat, at konkretong pakinabang sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino.

Thank you, Mr. President.