MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the President (OP) is seeking a significantly smaller budget for 2027, but Executive Secretary Ralph Recto insists the sharp reduction will not hamper Malacañang’s ability to run government operations.
Recto said the Palace can continue overseeing government agencies, responding to emergencies, supporting public services, monitoring economic programs and protecting national interests despite the proposed ₱10.156-billion budget, which is about 64% lower than the OP’s 2026 allocation of ₱28.03 billion.
The proposed allocation was presented to the House Committee on Appropriations on September 1, where Recto attributed much of the reduction to the completion of expenses connected with the Philippines’ hosting of the 48th and 49th ASEAN Summits.
Why the Palace budget is falling sharply
According to Recto, the 2026 budget included substantial funding for the country’s ASEAN hosting responsibilities. The OP’s 2026 allocation included about ₱17.55 billion for locally funded projects, much of which was tied to major activities and requirements associated with the ASEAN summits.
With those activities completed, Recto said the Palace can operate with a substantially smaller allocation in 2027.
The Executive Secretary also pointed to the streamlining of the Office of the President’s 49 delivery units as another reason for the lower spending requirement.
“We are asking for less while remaining fully prepared to do more,” Recto said.
The proposed OP budget represents only around 0.14% of the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, according to the House and other reports.
What the ₱10.15 billion will cover
Recto said the reduced allocation will still support the core functions of the presidency, including Cabinet meetings, policy consultations, presidential engagements and the daily operations of Malacañang.
The budget will also provide resources for government responses to emergencies and contingencies, assistance to vulnerable sectors, and the President’s role in coordinating government agencies and implementing national policies.
Recto maintained that the Palace’s performance should not simply be measured by the number of activities it conducts.
He said government engagements should ultimately translate into tangible benefits, including jobs and investments, stronger national security, improved public services and greater opportunities for Filipinos.
But billions in confidential and intelligence funds remain
While the overall Palace budget is being sharply reduced, one part of the proposed spending plan has attracted particular scrutiny.
The OP is seeking approximately ₱4.56 billion in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) for 2027—the same level allocated in 2026.
The amount consists of roughly ₱2.25 billion in confidential funds and ₱2.31 billion in intelligence funds, meaning the two categories account for about 45% of the proposed OP budget.
Recto defended the allocation, saying the President’s responsibilities as chief executive and commander-in-chief require resources for law enforcement and national security.
He also cited the Commission on Audit’s unmodified opinion on the OP’s 2025 financial statements, the office’s third consecutive unmodified opinion since 2022.
Budget hearing ends before lawmakers can fully question the Palace
The budget proposal became controversial not because of the 64% reduction alone, but because House lawmakers were given little opportunity to question the Palace about how the proposed funds would be spent.
The House Committee on Appropriations voted 37-5 to extend institutional and interbranch courtesy to the Office of the President and terminate further interpellations during the committee-level briefing.
Several minority lawmakers objected.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio argued that Congress should apply the same transparency standards to the Office of the President that it has demanded from other government offices, particularly the Office of the Vice President.
Other Makabayan bloc lawmakers also called for greater scrutiny of the Palace’s proposed spending.
House officials, however, said lawmakers would still have opportunities to raise their questions when the proposed national budget reaches the plenary stage.
Transparency issue refuses to disappear
The controversy continued after the hearing.
Tinio later called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to release accomplishment reports concerning the OP’s confidential and intelligence funds, arguing that the public deserves greater information about how billions of pesos have been used. He cited more than ₱18.2 billion in CIF allocations from 2023 to 2026.
The dispute therefore puts two competing arguments at the center of the 2027 Palace budget debate.
The Marcos administration argues that the reduced overall budget demonstrates fiscal discipline and that the remaining allocation is sufficient to perform the presidency’s constitutional and administrative responsibilities.
Critics, meanwhile, say the size of the confidential and intelligence funds—and the limited opportunity for lawmakers to scrutinize them—deserves closer examination.
What happens next?
The ₱10.156-billion proposed budget is not yet the final 2027 allocation. It remains part of the congressional budget process and will be subject to further deliberations before Congress ultimately approves the General Appropriations Act.
For Recto, the message is straightforward: the Palace can accomplish its responsibilities with less money because extraordinary ASEAN-related expenditures have ended and its operations have been streamlined.
For critics, however, the bigger question is whether Congress and the public will get enough answers about the billions of pesos that remain classified as confidential and intelligence spending.
And that issue could become one of the most closely watched parts of the Palace’s 2027 budget as deliberations move forward.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.S
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