Following the House appropriations committee’s endorsement of the Office of the President’s P 10.15 billion proposed budget for 2027, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on Sunday assured that the reduced budget will not downgrade its work nor diminish its operations.
In a statement, Recto explained that the approved budget is 64 percent lower than the current year’s P 28 billion budget for the OP.
“It is equivalent to one-seventh of one percent of the proposed P 7.2 trillion national budget,” he said.
However, Recto said the sum is enough to oversee government operations, respond to emergencies, deliver public services, monitor economic plans, and protect national interests.
“We are asking for less while remaining fully prepared to do more,” Recto told members of the House.
The cut in the OP’s budget is due to the streamlining of the operations of the OP’s 49 delivery units and the completion of activities related to the Philippines’ hosting of the ASEAN Summit this year.
By expense class, Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses account for P 7.46 billion, or 74 percent of the planned spending. Personnel Services is at P 1.86 billion, or 18 percent of the total. Capital Outlay amounts to P 839 million, representing an 8 percent share.
Recto said the funding will support Cabinet meetings, policy consultations, presidential engagements, and the daily operations of Malacañang as the nation’s principal center of executive decision-making and inter-agency coordination.
The budget will also help deliver timely assistance to vulnerable sectors and enable the government “to mount response to contingencies and challenges.”
“Every day, the President’s schedule is full because the demands of governing do not pause. But activity alone is not our measure of performance,” Recto said.
He also assured lawmakers that the proposed budget was crafted strictly within the parameters and processes established by the Department of Budget and Management
“We sought no special treatment,” Recto added.