Marcos confident budget will be enacted on time, Palace says

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is confident that the national budget will be signed on time, Malacañang said Wednesday.

This was according to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro when asked for comment on the statement of Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo ''Ping'' Lacson that it would be better to operate under a reenacted budget for January or the first quarter of 2026, than to settle for an ''unchecked corruption conducive, worst and graft-written GAA (General Appropriations Act).''

''Okay. Maganda po ang suhestiyon ni Senator Ping Lacson pero ang nais po talaga ng Pangulo ay hindi magkaroon ng reenacted budget,'' Castro said.

(The suggestion of Senator Ping Lacson was good but the President doesn't want a reenacted budget.)

''At hindi pa naman po natatapos ang Disyembre, December 17 pa lang po at sa tingin po ng Pangulo ay may sapat pang panahon para aralin ito,'' she added.

(December is not yet finished. It's just December 17 and the President thinks there's still enough time to study this.)

Earlier, Castro maintained that Marcos does not want a reenacted budget amid delays in the deliberations of the bicameral conference committee.

The national government may operate on a reenacted budget next year as the bicameral conference committee faces delays in deliberations on the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget, Lacson had warned.

The Department of Budget and Management defines a reenacted budget as a situation where the previous year’s GAA is extended and remains in effect for a preceding year until such time the Congress passes a budget bill into law. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News