House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chair and Sultan Kudarat Representative Bella Vanessa Suansing spotlighted the Department of Finance’s (DOF) crucial role in advancing socio-economic mobility, safeguarding economic security, and ensuring a higher quality of life for Filipinos as she sponsored the agency’s proposed 2026 budget.
“The Department of Finance and its attached agencies have continually assumed the prodigious role of mobilizing resources in order to implement timely and time-sensitive public investments that strive for goals in socio-economic mobility, economic security, and a higher quality of life for Filipinos,” she said in her sponsorship speech before the House Plenary on September 23, 2025.
The DOF’s proposed budget for 2026 amounts to PHP 37.78 billion, only 1.09% higher than the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) level and represents just 0.56% of the PHP 6.793 trillion proposed 2026 national budget.
The updated level endorsed by the Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) amounts to PHP 37.91 billion to include the roll-out of the Taxpayers’ Rights Program.
The amount is very small compared to the DOF’s herculean task of collecting PHP 13.65 billion a day in revenues and plugging the PHP 4.51 billion deficit per day to support the PHP 18.61 billion daily spending of the government next year.
After Representative Suansing ably defended the DOF budget, the House of Representatives (HOR) had already terminated the plenary debates over the proposal on the same day and endorsed its approval.
“We thank Representative Suansing for her strong support in defending the DOF’s budget. Her solid background and experience gave her a clear grasp of our mission, making her a true ally in strengthening our fiscal foundations and securing a brighter future for our nation,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.
Representative Suansing graduated cum laude from New York University with a degree in Economics and Politics, and earned a Master’s in Development Studies with merit from the University of Cambridge. She began her career as a political and legislative researcher and consultant, later serving as Chief Political Affairs Officer of the Second District of Sultan Kudarat.
During her sponsorship speech, Representative Suansing stressed that the proposed DOF budget will enable it to adhere to the government’s fiscal consolidation strategy through the recalibrated Medium-Term Fiscal Program.
The program aims to gradually reduce the government’s deficit and debt by 2028, while creating more jobs, increasing incomes, and reducing poverty in the process.
With its proposed 2026 budget, Representative Suansing underscored that the DOF will be further empowered to help the Marcos, Jr. administration pursue a true economic transformation that engages in productive investments that will redound to the benefit of every Filipino.
As a brief overview, the DOF budget reflects its focus on upskilling its workforce and enhancing digital infrastructure. About 45% of the proposed budget under the New General and Automatic Appropriations will go to Personnel Services; 38% to Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE); about 17% to Capital Outlays; and less than 1% to Financial Expenses.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will receive the largest share of the DOF budget (55%), followed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) (20%), and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) (14%).
Digitalization and modernization initiatives remain a high priority across all agencies, with a total budget of PHP 6.9 billion to transform processes, integrate systems, and deliver faster, more efficient services.
