MANILA – With the clock ticking toward a potential fiscal fiasco, Senate President Vicente Sotto III issued a stern warning on Monday against further postponements in deliberating the proposed 2026 national budget, stressing that the chamber will not tolerate reenacting what he bluntly called the “most corrupt” 2025 spending plan marred by allegations of graft and wasteful insertions. The urgency comes amid a series of setbacks, including a weekend fire that soaked the session hall and forced a one-day suspension, but Sotto insisted the amendment period kicks off December 2 without fail.
In a no-nonsense ambush interview, Sotto laid bare the mounting frustrations: “We were already delayed by one day because of Friday’s additional period of interpellation. Then we’re delayed again today, when we were supposed to be in the amendment period. So that’s another delay. So it really can’t be postponed tomorrow.” The Senate’s Monday session was scrapped after a blaze gutted the third-floor office of the Legislative Technical Affairs Bureau, sending water cascading into the second-floor chamber and prompting a cleanup frenzy. Despite the hiccup, Sotto doubled down: “Let’s not delay it because the budget we would be reenacting is the most corrupt. So we will not allow that.”
The 2025 budget, a P6.35-trillion behemoth, has been under fire since explosive exposés revealed massive infrastructure-heavy allocations, suspicious congressional insertions, duplicate project entries, and potential diversions from welfare sectors – scandals that have fueled nationwide protests and eroded public trust. Sotto’s fiery rhetoric echoes the growing bipartisan dread of a reenacted blueprint, which could lock in those flaws for another year and hobble the government’s ability to address pressing needs like flood mitigation and social services.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, steering the Senate’s finance panel, shared the jitters but struck a more tempered note during a separate press huddle. “I do have fears as well. Because if you look at the timeline, the ratification is on December 17. That means they will have to work overtime to prepare the enrolled copy. And if you look at the signing in Malacañang, it’s on December 29 – just two days before the New Year. So it’s quite tight. Everyone will really have to work overtime,” Gatchalian admitted, outlining the breakneck pace from amendments to final nods. Yet, he later pivoted to reassurance: “All fears of a reenacted budget have been addressed so far within the available time to address next year’s funding.”
The proposed 2026 budget, clocking in at P6.35 trillion, demands bicameral harmony between the House and Senate versions by mid-December, a tall order amid the fire’s logistical lag and the chamber’s packed docket. Sotto’s vow signals a chamber-wide push to expedite, with interpellations wrapping up and amendments primed for Tuesday’s plunge. In a nation still reeling from typhoon scars and graft gripes, the stakes couldn’t be higher: A timely budget could unlock flood fixes and festive funding; a delay risks dragging the “most corrupt” shadow into another year.
As the Senate mops up from the flames – literal and figurative – Sotto’s clarion rings clear: No more excuses, no more echoes of 2025’s mess. In the race against the calendar, the upper house is betting on overtime to deliver a blueprint that’s clean, crisp, and crucially on time.