P23B subsistence allowance hike for military, uniformed personnel gets bicam OK

The bicameral conference committee on Tuesday approved P23 billion in funding for the increase in subsistence allowance of military and uniformed personnel, as part of the proposed P6.7 trillion budget for 2026.

House appropriations panel chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing made the disclosure during the resumption of deliberations, stating the P23 billion funding is in line with Executive Order 84 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last March.

“I just want to make a point that both the House and the Senate have mutually agreed to adopt subsistence allowance as a common amendment for both Houses [of Congress].

That would be a total of P23,696,822,000 across the different agencies and attached agencies from the Philippine Public Safety College,  PNP, BJMP, BFP, PCG, NAMRIA, Bureau of Corrections, among others,” Suansing said.

She was referring to the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard,  National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, among others.

“I would like to highlight that in the budget for the year 2026, we can fund the increase in subsistence allowance from P150 to P350 per day,” Suansing added.

Senate finance panel chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said many senators pushed for an increase in the subsistence allowance for the military and uniformed personnel.

Also on Tuesday, the bicameral panel approved the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of National Defense (DND).

National security concerns

The discussions on the proposed DND budget for 2026 were cut short after Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the proceedings being on live stream and open to media coverage might compromise national security.

Prior to Rodriguez airing his concern, Senator Erwin Tulfo questioned why items under the proposed DND budget mostly concern infrastructure improvement, including that of barracks and multi-purpose buildings, rather than spare parts of the military vehicles.

“I am concerned because we are talking about matters of national security. Probably next time, our discussions like this will not only be heard by the Filipino people, but our enemies. So for the next cycle, it should be in an executive session,” Rodriguez said.

“We are already announcing our defensive postures. I hope that we stop now, and we, therefore, would like to move for approval of the same [DND budget],” Rodriguez added.

Rodriguez’s motion was approved, seconded by Senate finance panel chairperson Sherwin Gatchalian and the rest of the bicam panel members.

“Before I answer that, let me just approve the budget of the DND. The projects mentioned earlier are more improvements of barracks, improvements of minor facilities inside the camps. But I do agree with the Congressman, sensitive matters such as purchasing [equipment], modernization, should not be discussed,” Gatchalian said.

Tulfo clarified that he did not ask any question that would compromise national security.

“I was just asking earlier, like, how come we don't have, of course, we have to buy spare parts. I did not ask, are we buying submarines, are we buying aircraft carriers, are we buying cruise missiles? I was asking, where are the [budget] items for spare parts?” Tulfo said.

Still, Tulfo recognized that Rodriguez had made a valid point.

“Thank you for reminding us,” Tulfo said to Rodriguez. —LDF, GMA Integrated News