House rejects motion to reconsider approval of 2027 budget bill

MANILA — The House of Representatives has voted against a motion to reconsider its approval of the 2027 House General Appropriations Bill — its version of the 2027 national budget proposal.

BH Party-list Rep. Robert Nazal made the motion on Monday afternoon, citing the recent Supreme Court ruling declaring unconstitutional some special provisions of the 2026 national budget.

He said the 2027 budget bill includes similar provisions. The bill was approved by the House on final reading last October 12, before the Supreme Court announced its decision on the General Appropriations Acts of 2024, 2025, and 2026.

His motion was put to a vote during the Tuesday House plenary session, after Las Piñas City Rep. Mark Anthony Santos objected to it. The voting was made via viva voce.

“The nays have it, the motion is lost,” House Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Emano of Misamis Oriental 2nd District declared.

House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo 1st District previously said he sees no need to recall the 2027 HGAB since adjustments can be done in the Senate and at the bicameral conference committee meeting.

For ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, the House’s rejection of Nazal’s motion was a “missed opportunity” to rectify its own proposal and make it fully compliant with the Supreme Court ruling.

He said it would have been a chance for the House to understand the Supreme Court decision, see how unprogrammed appropriations are prone to abuse, see why lump sums were prohibited and heed public clamor.

“‘Yan ang pagkakataong pinalampas… ng House of Representatives at ipinauubaya nalang sa Senado at sa bicam kung sakali,” he said.

(That is the opportunity the House let pass and left to the Senate and the bicam, if at all.)

Nazal, for his part, requested that special provisions 1A and B of HGAB be reviewed and corrected, saying these are similar to the 2026 GAA special provisions the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.

He also requested a review of the proposed P57-billion Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. fund restoration and P8.8-billion conversion of national government advances into Government Owned and Controlled Corporations subsidies to determine their proper classification, subject to legal and fiscal requirements. 

Congressional amendments and realignments should also be examined for technical justification, implementation readiness, actual development needs, and transparent disclosure of the relevant budget amendments and review subcommittee records, Nazal added..  

“While the House has declined to reconsider the bill, I respectfully request that these specific conditions, constitutional concerns, and proposed amendments be formally transmitted to the Senate for consideration and where proper, addressed in the bicameral conference process,” he said

Nazal said he is willing to be part of the House panel for the bicameral conference committee meeting on the proposed 2027 national budget if tapped by the chamber’s leadership.