2026 budget bill bars pols from cash aid payouts—Suansing

The General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which sets the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, contains a special provision prohibiting politicians from taking part in the distribution of any form of financial assistance, House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Suansing said on Sunday.

Suansing cited the provision to allay concerns that the increased funding allocated to government cash aid programs in the final version of the 2026 GAB could reinforce patronage politics.

“May special provision po na, if I’m not mistaken, Section 78 ng General Provisions, ayun po yung patungkol sa prohibition on political involvement in the distribution of cash and other types of financial aid. So nakapaloob na po ‘yun at saklaw niya po lahat ng klase ng cash and non-cash financial assistance,”

(There is a special provision, if I’m not mistaken, Section 78 of the General Provisions, which pertains to the prohibition on political involvement in the distribution of cash and other types of financial aid. It is already included and covers all types of cash and non-cash financial assistance.)

Suansing made the statement moments after the bicameral conference committee approved and adopted the report on the disagreeing provisions in the GAB.

The approved bicam report on the 2026 national budget is scheduled for ratification by Congress on Monday, December 29, before it is transmitted to Malacañang for the President’s signature.

But Suansing conceded that no prohibition is included in the proposed budget law that eliminates the issuance of guarantee letters by politicians for citizens' access to the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program of the Department of Health.

“Hindi po naka-specify yung guarantee letter kasi lahat po ng types—AICS, MAIFIP, TUPAD—covered na po ‘yun.”

(The provision does not specifically mention guarantee letters because all types—AICS, MAIFIP, TUPAD—are already covered.)

AICS or the Assistance to Indigents in Crisis Situations is a doleout program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) while TUPAD or the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers is a cash-for-work program of the Department of Health.

The bicameral committee has approved an increase in the MAIFIP budget of P51 billion for 2026, following an appeal from the House appropriations panel to restore its proposed P49-billion allocation—significantly higher than the P24.2-billion budget proposed in the National Expenditure Program.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III earlier said there is a possibility of eliminating the role of lawmakers in issuing guarantee letters.—MCG, GMA Integrated News